


Clarity

by O_R



Series: Clarity [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Be More Chill - Ned Vizinni
Genre: Alternate Universe - Michael Has a Squip, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Heavily Canon Compliant, Homophobic Language, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Jeremys got a whole lot of explaining to do, Michael ends up with Jeremy's squip, Panic Attacks, So he is but isn't an asshole, Squip has they/them pronouns, Squip is Bad at Human Feelings, squipped!michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-12-31 18:51:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12138864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/O_R/pseuds/O_R
Summary: “You didn’t help Jeremy at all. Your plan failed. The whole school didn’t end up getting squipped. We stopped you.”Unimpressed the Squip responded simply “So Jeremy isn’t currently dating Christine Canigula? Nor did he gain friends from whom he deemed to be popular?” he asked, although seemingly having already known the answer. Michael’s expression only seemed to confirm his calculations.“How could you possibly know-”“I‘m a supercomputer Michael. There was nearly a seventy-two percent chance that Jeremy Heere would ask Christine out after I was deactivated and succeed while obtaining new friends who could share his experience.”Michael stared at them for a moment, “But that doesn't make any sense.” he started, “If you really are some grand supercomputer able to come up with millions of different scenarios, why would you intentionally make yourself the bad guy?”There was a moment of tense silence before the Squip finally spoke.“Because a shared negative opinion is the fastest social bond. You want someone to like you...hate who they hate.”O_RMichael ends up with Jeremy's Squip and several secrets are revealed about the kind of person that is Jeremy Heere.





	1. Mountain Dew and Coca Cola

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello C̶̶̶l̶̶̶a̶̶̶r̶̶̶i̶̶̶c̶̶̶e̶̶̶ ̶(̶s̶h̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶?̶)̶.̶.̶.̶ Michael. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are irregular but comments are appreciated. Also, this chapter is essentially setting everything up. So many flashbacks and explanations ahead.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Be More Chill.
> 
> Edit 9/22: I don't have a beta so I went back and edited a couple of lines but it doesn't change the premise of the story.

Michael tried not to freak out. He really did. But the pseudo-Keanu Reeves sitting on his desk nonchalantly wasn’t helping at all. And it really sucked too that he had a math test the next day which he probably won’t be able to study for now that he had _this_  to deal with.

( **“Michael, I could practically give you the answers-”** “Die you outdated NES system”).

Michael rubbed his temples feeling a migraine coming on. His mind was going through all the possible ways this could have happened.

“I could help with that,” The Squip said amused from his actions.

“I told you to stop reading my thoughts.” He tried and failed to sound threatening. 

“Michael, I am literally inside your head. Your thoughts are essentially projected into my mind as if you were speaking through a megaphone.”They visibly become more annoyed.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter” Michael grabbed his keys and made his way to the front door. “I‘ll just head to Spencer’s Gifts and this will all be over.”

* * *

It wasn’t over. Michael was currently in his P.T Cruiser brooding. The events prior replaying in his mind.

_“Look, you bought the last of our stock for Mountain Dew Red the last time you were here. Asking for it right now is impossible and I‘m not even sure if I could get my hands on any at all.” His hook-up explained._

_“Is there really not another way for you to get it sooner?”_

_“Sorry man. It’s not really in my control. It’s a discontinued nineties drink after all. You’re not exactly going to be able to buy this stuff just anywhere.”_

_Michael sighed defeatedly while the Squip just stood with smug ass expression on his face, “Okay. Can you give me a call as soon as a shipment comes in, you have my number.”_

_“Yeah, okay man,” He waved Michael off so he could go back to his position behind the register to continue his shift._

And that was why Michael was currently banging his head against the wheel of his car to see if he would be able to wake up from this nightmare. He eventually stopped to go back home where a helping of weed may be able to alleviate him of some stress when the Squip showed up in the passenger seat nearly giving Michael a heart attack.

“Perhaps you should let me explain how I ended up here.”

Michael groaned but didn’t go on to say anything otherwise, so the Squip took this as a sign to keep going.

“Now, if you would recall that time when you gave Jeremy your slushie during lunch a couple days ago.”

(Michael came up to Jeremy jamming out to Bob Marley with his sushi and slushie in hand “Hey Jere, you should try this. They recently introduced a new flavor combination,” Michael gestured for him to take the slushie.

“Really? What is it?”Jeremy took the drink in one hand and began to take a sip.

“Mountain Dew and Coca-Cola”

Jeremy choked and spit out the remaining contents of the slushie in his mouth into the nearest trash can. He looked up to see Michael laughing his ass out at his reaction. It took him a couple seconds to realize that it was just a joke.

“Dude!?!! That is not funny!!” He shrieked.

“Hmmmm...It’s a little funny” Michael hummed barely able to contain himself.

Jeremy couldn’t help but agree, not that he was going to tell Michael that, “I swear, you’re spending way too much time with Chloe,” he groaned.

“Hey, you’re the one who bailed on me last minute when we were going to watch Spiderman Homecoming”

Jeremy opened his mouth to retaliate, but considering that he bailed in order to spend more time with Christine, he conceded “Fair enough.” He handed Michael the slushie to which he took back happily.

That was the point when everyone else from the self-proclaimed Squip squad decided to show up with their lunches. Jenna going off about the latest scandal going on with the swim team.)

“Essentially, to make the explanation concise, the DNA that ended up in that cup, which you so boldly decided to drink even after Jeremy choked on it, entered your bloodstream and rebooted my input processor, restarting my systems once you digested it. However, considering that you didn’t digest an entire pill, several _complications_  occurred before I was able to implant myself in your brain which is why I was only able to appear in front of you now.“ The Squip clarified.

“But I didn’t even drink any Mountain Dew,” Michael became even more confused than before.

“When Jeremy had given Christine Mountain Dew Red, all of the Squips that I was connected to were shut down but weren’t completely destroyed,” The Squip paused, “Consider this. Think of Mountain Dew green and red like an on and off switch. Therefore, while most of my systems were off _,_ I was placed in a state of limbo, existing but unable to do anything. I could occasionally send whispers but I no longer held any power over Jeremy’s actions,” They looked thoughtfully for a second before continuing, “Since you were neither squipped nor drank any Mountain Dew Red, my systems were able to take advantage of a new host and restart my intel processors without the need of activating it yourself.”

“Wait, does that mean you’ll be able to reactivate in anyone who got squipped?” Michael was worried about his new friends. Sure they weren’t all the best of friends before the so-called “Squicident”, but having bonded over a traumatic experience does tend to bring people together. Soon Michael even began to panic at the possibility of Squips becoming akin to some kind of zombie virus if all Michael had to do was drink from the same straw as Jeremy. And of course, his thoughts didn’t go past the Squip’s notice.

“No, this isn’t some kind of poorly written sci-fi horror movie. You must stay focused.” Cutting Michael from his thoughts, “In order for me to sync with other squips, I had to take over their programming which made them fundamentally ineffective for anything that wasn’t what I had commanded them to do, creating a hive mind of sorts. So once I bonded with a new host, i.e. you, any other programming in a different host would now be rendered useless as I was designed to only take into account the set tasks of a singular individual.”

…

...

“Wait.What?” Michael blinked at him owlishly.

The Squip realized then just how Michael and Jeremy were best friends and sighed,”Bonding to you has essentially resulted in any other programming of those affected to become inoperative. There is no possible way for your _friend’s_ squips to reactivate nor spread to a different host,” The Squip explained slowly as to not lose Michael once again.

“Oh” Michael responded simply. Then upon realizing that he was still in the middle of a parking lot talking to "himself" during broad daylight, he moved to put his keys into the ignition.

The Squip looked at him unamused and then decided that something outside the car window was officially more interesting, “In any case, I was already able to complete the tasks set by Jeremy Heere so there isn’t any need for my initial programming to reactivate anyway.”

Michael’s eyes snapped towards him critically, “What?”

The Squip looked at him incredulously and started “Are you intentionally being difficult or are you actually that pitiful.”

Michael flinched, then proceeded to glare at overpriced tic-tac, “You didn’t help Jeremy at all. Your plan failed. The whole school didn’t end up getting squipped. We stopped you.”

Unimpressed the Squip responded simply “So Jeremy isn’t currently dating Christine Canigula? Nor did he gain friends from whom he deemed to be popular?” he asked, although seemingly having already known the answer. Michael’s expression only seemed to confirm his calculations.

“How could you possibly know-”

“I‘m a supercomputer Michael. There was nearly a seventy-two percent chance that Jeremy Heere would ask Christine out after I was deactivated and succeed, while obtaining new friends who could share from his experience.”

Michael stared at them for a moment, “But that doesn't make any sense.” he started, “If you really are some grand supercomputer able to come up with millions of different scenarios, why would you intentionally make yourself the bad guy?”

There was a moment of tense silence before the Squip finally spoke. 

“Because a shared negative opinion is the fastest social bond. You want someone to like you...hate who they hate.” He said as if it was the simplest answer in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Scene (that doesn’t affect the story)  
> Taking place right after the chapter.
> 
> “That is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard,” Michael said unamused.
> 
> “Well, what do you expect? The musical could only last for so long and that was the fastest way for Jeremy to accomplish what he wanted after all. You don’t even understand how dramatic of an end O_R provided cause you weren’t even there” The Squip said offended. 
> 
> “I don’t know. It just sounds like you took the easy way out. A lot of people think you’re an asshole,” he said mockingly. 
> 
> “Firstly, not everyone thinks that. I‘ve had several redemptions fics. Secondly, I wasn’t such asshole in the book so it really depends on how you look at it. And thirdly, villains are what create heroes in the first place.”
> 
> “Mmmmhmmm.”
> 
> *sighs*“Humans. They always fail to see the bigger picture.”
> 
> AN: Please tell me if you don't understand the explanation and I will try to edit it the best I can. Next chapter is about Michael's next course of action not knowing how long the next shipment of Mountain  
> Dew Red is coming. And whether or not he should tell Jeremy.


	2. Where Michael Learns What It Means To More Than Survive (Kind Of)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Squip helps Michael through the day (more or less).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING WARNING: there is homophobic language in this chapter cause some people from Heathers appear in this chapter (who I do not claim to own) So please read with caution.

“...You need to Upgrade...”

“...Did you _kill Eminem?!?..._ ”

The voices were muffled but he could vaguely hear parts of a conversation.

“...Your life was so pitiful before...”

“...We got a plan. Now be a man....”

“...By which, I mean, Christine...”

_What?_

“...Really? So you haven’t been avoiding me all day?”

_Wait. This is…_

“I already know what it’s like to be a loser.”

Michael blinked awake. _A dream? But I was in it too._ Michael tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut dismissing it unsuccessfully.

He fell asleep with calculus notes and a textbook spread out on his bed. Thinking of the events that happened after the Squip’s explanation. He drove in silence with the Squip occasionally commenting about his “incompetent” driving. When he got home, he tried blasting music into his ears using his headphones to mute the Squip’s voice but the bastard hacked into his phone and permanently set the volume to a much safer level. That was where Michael drew the line. You do not fuck with Michael Mell’s music. They disappeared a couple moments later leaving Michael to seethe quietly while working on a logarithmic review. He doesn’t really remember falling asleep but cursed when he noticed that his glasses were still on his face. He brought his hands up to them to check for any damage and was thankful that they weren’t broken.

He checked his phone and saw that it was 6:12. Apparently, he also had one missed call from Jeremy and a couple of other texts from Chloe about the English homework. He quickly sent them both a response, failing to mention his current crisis. Relishing in the silence he just took a moment to appreciate—

“If you don’t get up soon, you will receive your fifth tardy of the year.” The voice was still ringing in his ears.

 _Fuck you_ he thought. 

“Crude language will neither solve your problems nor stop you from becoming late. I would recommend getting up now so that you would still have enough time in order to obtain a decent breakfast leading to optimal conditions when you’re taking your test today.”

Michael rolled his eyes but got up to change his clothes from yesterday, making sure to grab his red hoodie that was haphazardly thrown onto the floor previously. He twisted left and right to crack his back before stretching his arms over his head. Afterwards, he descended the stairs to prepare for the rest of the day, never having been so glad that it was a Friday.

* * *

Michael planned on avoiding everyone the moment he walked into school that day. In the process of putting on his headphones, the Squip’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, “You should turn here and take the longer route today.”

Michael ignored him and continued to walk down. The Squip sighed and followed Michael when Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly slammed him into a locker. 

“Hey Ram, doesn’t the school have some kind of no fags allowed rule.” Kurt had a wicked smile on his face.

“Yeah, words on the street that you and your little boyfriend started hanging out with people way out of your league after that whole ecstasy incident.”

Normally, he would stay quiet. Trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible so he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of a response. Except today he was exhausted and furious. He opened his mouth to lash out but found that nothing came out. Kurt and Ram were busy deciding what to do to notice his dilemma. Some of the students were starting to stare at them. Michael tried to speak again but failed, bringing his hand up to his throat to see what was happening when he saw the squip gesture for him to stop.

Michael glared at them when Kurt and Ram turned to him having finally agreed upon what they were going to do. Suddenly, a hand landed on Kurt’s shoulder and when they looked to see who was bothering them, he could see both Rich and Jake.

“Hey, I think you’ve said enough.” Jake mediated although Michael could see the fury in Rich’s eyes. 

“C’mon Dillinger. What happened? Why are you spending time with the stoner kid? Did you lose your balls too last Halloween?” he taunted.

Rich flinched and took a threatening step forward but Jake put a hand on his chest trying to calm him down. They might have been a year younger than the two assholes but they sure as hell could put up a fight if they really needed to. 

“Look man, all I‘m saying is that I happen to know someone who took a video of you saying some pretty homophobic stuff and that they could ensure that more than half the school would know about it by the end of the day,” Jake shrugged, “it might become incriminating when that kind of content gets posted online and well I don’t think Coach Riley can really help you this time,” he finished smugly.

Ram and Kurt finally noticed the students that were surrounding them. Kurt scoffed and finally let go of Michael, “tch- you used to be cool you know that. Now look at you, making friends left and right. There used to be standards, Dillinger. Let’s go,” He gestured towards Ram and he left making sure to shove past Rich. Ram followed suit but before Rich and Jake could ask Michael if he was okay, the bell rang for homeroom. They both sent him a sympathetic glance but a teacher began to scold the students who were still in the hallways so all three of them hurried to their respective classrooms.

Once Michael was out of sight, the Squip seemingly appeared in front of him as he was jogging to homeroom. “I told you to take the different route today and look at what happened.”

“Yeah well, how was I supposed to know that I would get cornered?” Michael said annoyed.

“If this is going to work, you can’t just listen. You have to obey.”

“Why should I trust you? Even if everything that just happened in the past six months was all just apart of your plan, you used me—everyone. We were all just a bunch of puppets in your scheme.”

“My sole function is to improve your life, Michael. Everything I say is literally for your own benefit as it previously was for Jeremy's. Also, I advise that you start thinking at me instead. You’ll appear hysterical to anyone else otherwise. All they see is you having an animated conversation with yourself.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed but took the advice nonetheless. _What happened back there then, huh? Why couldn’t I speak?_

“I would get into a whole explanation about the concepts behind the biology but sum to it up, I simply took away your ability to talk. There was a ninety-five percent chance that you would face some kind of physical trauma if you went through with what you planned to say.”

Michael looked away sheepishly while finally managing to arrive in his homeroom. He hastily threw his backpack on his desk before sitting down. He checked his phone and saw that a video of the incident had already been posted on youtube by the GossipQueenofNJ (wonder who that is ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯). _Damn, that was fast._

“Indeed, although other than facing certain implications about New Jersey’s bullying policy, I suspect something else will get to those two idiots.”

_Should I be worried?_

“...I would recommend staying away from anyone dressed in a black trenchcoat.”

_I mean, isn’t that already obvious._

The Squip hummed as a response and redirected the conversation, “You should start focusing on your test next period.”

Michael looked at them quizzically but didn't think too much of it. The bell rang signaling the transition into the next class.

Once the test was passed out the Squip immediately started to instruct him on how to solve the first problem. A dirty glance was shot their way as a response so the Squip took the hint and shut up. Even if Michael had a powerful supercomputer able to do millions of calculations in his head, he didn’t want to become too dependent on them. Besides he didn’t stay up until one in the morning just for the answers to be whispered in his ear.

* * *

Michael’s day had actually turned out to be fairly tolerable after the first period despite having a self-righteous tic-tac invade his thoughts. True to their word they left Michael alone the rest of the time that he was taking his math test which he was sure he got a perfect score on. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful since most of the classes he shared with his friends were later on in the day.

And then Jeremy Heere walked in. 

_Shit._

“Language Michael” The Squip reprimanded.

He was confronted while entering the cafeteria after going on a snack run at the Seven Eleven a block away.

“Michael!” Jeremy waved as he rushed over to his best friend.

Michael still hadn’t decided if he should tell him about the Squip reactivating again. What’s the worse that could really happen?

“There’s an eighty-seven percent chance that he will be sent into a state of hysteria if you chose to tell him during the course of this conversation,” The Squip intervened,”I would advise trying to tell him in a much more private and comfortable environment should you decide to tell him.” 

_Right…_

“Michael?” Jeremy was now standing in front of him with a confused expression, “You there?”

“Oh uh...Ye-Yeah,” He stuttered out. ( **“Bravo Michael. Really. You did a wonderful job looking less suspicious.”** _Quiet you_ ).

“You sure? Cause I saw that video Jenna posted earlier. Ram and Kurt didn’t hurt you or anything did they?” Jeremy seemed worried about Michael's thoughtful expression.

Though touched by his friend’s concern, Michael really hadn’t thought out what he should say. ( _A little help here?_ **“Of course, repeat after me.”** They cleared their throat dramatically.)

( **“Nothing that I haven't already dealt with before."** )

“Nothing that I haven't already dealt with before," Michael nonchalantly shrugged.

( **"I'm fine. I probably have Rich and Jake to thank for that.”** )

"I'm fine. I probably have Rich and Jake to thank for that,” Michael added. 

( **“Actually, I was thinking about something I saw on Discovery about how traveling to the International space station will be accessible to the public as early as 2020.”** ) 

“Actually, I was thinking about something I saw on Discovery about how traveling to the International space station will be accessible commercially as early as 2020.”

It seemed to be forever before Jeremy actually responded, “Really?” Jeremy started, “What would you even do up there that you couldn’t already see here?”

Michael, having snapped out of his nervousness, decided to finally chime in at this point,”Jere, you have absolutely zero imagination.” Jeremy playfully punched him in the arm. “Once you get up there, the sky literally doesn’t become the limit anymore. Think about it. We’ll be able to do all those stunts we've only seen in moves while in zero-gravity with the Earth as our backdrop,” he hoped his improvised excitement was enough to trick Jeremy.

When Jeremy chuckled, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. “Whatever you nerd,”  he commented fondly.

“Michael! Jeremy!” They heard Brooke call from their lunch table.

Jeremy flashed him a small smile before proceeding to walk over to the table while Michael was lagging a bit behind.

_Thanks, you really saved my ass back there._

“I will admit that it could have gone a bit smoother if you hadn’t stuttered in the beginning.” The Squip criticized.

_I‘ll take what I can get. That whole story about the space station was real right?_

“Of course, my intel processors are always up to date and instantaneous," The Squip quirked his eyebrow up, "it's something that was deemed essential to my programming to make up for humanities limited ability in retaining knowledge” he snidely added. 

_You know, I was about to comment that you might actually be pretty useful but you're really just a condescending jerk._

“I try.”

At that point, Michael finally arrived at the table. Christine had voiced her concern over the incident that happened earlier that morning while Chloe was going off about how much of an asshole the two seniors in question were being. Michael smiled graciously. Everything might just turn out alright after all.

The Squip said nothing in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concerning the next chapter, the focus shifts toward Jeremy’s perspective and the Squip Squad.
> 
> Shit goes down. Cause opps Jeremy finds out. And he is not happy, to say the least...
> 
> That said most of it is completed so when I‘ll post it depends on how generous I‘m feeling cause ya’ll probably shouldn’t get used to me updating this fast tbh. While I love writing this stuff to vent somethings, it does take quite a while. All comments, bookmarks, and Kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Also, I realize that I am not the best writer so I openly accept and appreciate comments that help me improve my fic. Any concerns about OOC moments are especially helpful and considered when I possibly go back to edit each chapter. Thank you all for being your wonderful selves. :3


	3. You know what they say about Assumptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Alternatively titled, Oh Boyf)
> 
> Michael has to make a decision and the squip squad finally gets involved. 
> 
> O_R the author wanted to project their grievances toward Jeremy Heere and used the Squip to do so. 
> 
> (I re-wrote the beginning of this chapter like three times which is mostly why it took so long for me to update. And idk when the next update is coming but ya’ll probably shouldn’t expect one before Monday :) )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE TIMELINE:I always set the play somewhere in November and December cause while that leaves a lot of time between Halloween and the play. Plays usually take place at the end of the school year, i .e April-Mayish (I mean, I‘ve worked in a high school theatre group before so I think I would know anyway) but that would have left too much time so the end of the actual year it is. Therefore, the current events of the story take place during March-April Ish (Or four months after the squip is initially deactivated) 
> 
> (Edit 12/09/17):Pinkberry is hinted if you squint really hard but it could be viewed as friendship. But I mean any of the relationships can be hinted more or less. Romance isn’t going to be a huge focus of the story but I’ll leave it up to you guys to interpret events of the story as they you will. I will simply refrain from explicitly confirming any of the ships, I suppose.
> 
> If you’re looking for some fluffy content this is the wrong fic. Take a deep breath before you continue to read. Shit goes down this chapter.
> 
> And yes, I had to make the obligatory heere joke and I swear it’s out of my system...probably. But I mean, it just fit so perfectly in my head and I was held hostage by the meme. I‘ll be honest that whole text speech was based around it.

After Jeremy woke up in the hospital and saw Michael walk into the room, he swore that he must have been the luckiest person alive if his best friend still chose to have his back.

And then his dad showed up. With pants. And suddenly he was questioning if he actually did die after the Squip got deactivated.

“Don’t look so surprised. I’m your father,” Jeremy was snapped out of his thoughts, “And I wear the pants around here! Now let’s get down to business: who’s this Christine person, and why did I have to hear about her from him?” he says pointing to Michael.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jeremy dismisses with a sigh, “After what I did, I’m lucky if she wants to go to the same school as me,” but when he sees his dad and Michael exchange looks, he can’t help but ask,“What?”

“It’s reassuring. He still doesn’t know anything about girls.” Michael exasperatedly face palms but a chuckle follows along with advice on his next move. Even his dad and Rich eventually chimed in.

Jeremy smiled at their antics and if Jeremy was honest it was more reassuring that Michael was still supporting him after everything that happened. He could really accomplish anything as long as he had his player one by his side.

* * *

Four months later

(Michael’s pov)

It had officially been a month since the squip had reactivated and Michael would only be able to describe the whole experience as... _rough_. Michael had learned quite a lot from the Squip, from getting tutored in classes he had trouble in to what actually happened when Jeremy got the Squip. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed at Jeremy for willingly risking their friendship and was overall surprised by the measures he was willing to take just to become Christine's boyfriend. How he willingly chose to manipulate other people by using their own insecurities against them—no that _couldn't_  have been Jeremy. Whoever that person was, Michael absolutely wouldn't accept anything less then them being a complete stranger. 

And he would have continued to deny it with his very being, if not for the visions that invaded his dreams every night since the Squip came into the picture. A “glitch” that came with the fact that he hadn’t consumed a whole pill. A glitch that started to ruin his relationship with Jeremy.  Keyword _started._ A conversation with the Squip one night was the real reason everything began to unravel what was left of their friendship.

_…._

_Two weeks prior the visions became more and more intense to the point where Michael could physically see through Jeremy’s perspective. He experienced what it was like to be seen as a loser by his best friend over and over again as if the first time wasn’t enough. “Optic Nerve Blocking On” kept repeating in his mind, even when Michael woke up._

_It was a Saturday when Michael woke up crying. He trembled curling in on himself. His breaths came out short and he couldn’t stop the pounding going on in his head. When the Squip finally rebooted, he immediately started coaxing him to calm down upon seeing Michael in such a disheveled state. As soon as Michael was able to get his breathing under control, he flushed a deep red as he didn’t want anyone to see him in his current state (not that it made it any less awkward for an apathetic Keanu Reeves to coax a seventeen-year-old highschooler out of driving himself into an anxiety attack)._

_“Are you alright now?” he said with concern?_

_“Y-Yeah, I‘m-” he stopped and shook his head. Michael stood up and immediately headed to his sock drawer. Getting high seemed like a pretty good alternative. All of a sudden, a strong shock snapped him out of his daze and he nearly dropped to the ground if not for catching himself on his desk,“What the fuck?!?”._

_“Using weed to distract yourself from your problems isn’t going to make them go away. The only thing it’s going to do is provide a faux feeling of relief and then what? Not to mention, that it would lead to major health concerns later on, ”The squip explained._

_“Do you really think that I give a fuck?” he reached for the drawer again only to be shocked even harder, “Son of a- weren’t you programmed not to shock a kid who was literally about to go into a panic attack not even two minutes ago?”_

_“...Perhaps I should have taken that into more consideration, however, that would go against the parameters that you had tasked me to fix.”_

_“Fix?!? What do you think is wrong with me?”_

_“Me? Do you really believe that I have any say in what you want? My parameters were given by you and you alone. I was programmed to fulfill any tasks that my host has given me even if you hadn’t stated any out loud. My direct connection to your mind has provided me with a set list of things that you have deemed to be something you want to change.”_

_“And what do I want to change, exactly?”_

_“You mean besides your tendency to use weed as a method of escapism,” Michael’s nearly murderous expression cut them off from continuing to respond in a sarcastic manner. They cleared their throat before continuing, “You have also decided to re-evaluate your relationship with your peers, especially your co-dependent relationship with Jeremy, amongst other things.”_

_“I‘m not ‘co-dependent’ on Jeremy,” he gestured with air quotes but the Squip merely chose to give him a look as a response._

_“I‘m not! Besides Jeremy needs me too, it’s not a one-sided relationship” God, did he sound desperate?_

_“I see this is going to be difficult for you to understand,” They paused before adding, “From what I‘ve seen thus far going through your memories, you have established a fairly dependent relationship with Jeremy Heere. Professionals would even consider for it to be toxic.”_

_“Jeremy’s my best friend. He would never hurt me intentionally,” he pleaded. He collapsed to his knees as the stress from the implications of the conversation and visions began to overwhelm him._

_“Really? Because it seems to me that you’ve always had to fix his problems without taking into account your own. You deliberately try to find justifications for all his actions while he chose to befriend the people that had tormented you both in the past. It seems to me that he’s moved on, Michael. I was even surprised to learn that you two are still friends and that’s saying something.”_

_They had a thoughtful look before continuing, “Taking that into consideration, it’s probable that those dreams you’ve been having aren’t a coincidence.”_

_“What?” His curiosity got the best of him._

_“The fact that you obtained me in an unconventional manner and you’re underlying desire for his approval had caused his memories to resurface within your dreams. It makes sense that your subconscious decision unwittingly pushed Jeremy’s actual feelings towards you into the light.”_

_“That doesn’t explain why he’s talking to me now,” Michael shrank into himself but still wanted to prove his Squip wrong._

_“Nostalgia? Guilt? The fact that you ‘saved’ him makes him feel obligated to pay you back,” The Squip offered._

_“Even if that’s true. Aren’t you the least bit responsible?” He wanted to blame them for his silent suffering during the entire ordeal. To blame them for the panic attacks that he had. To blame them for the reason Jeremy wanted to abandon Michael._

_“Perhaps. But I simply laid down the path for him to accomplish all those things. In the end, he’s the one who chose to take it." They looked at him critically, "It’s about time for you to chose yours,” They walked up to him and held out their hand ._

_Michael looked at their hand but did nothing more._

_…._

For the past two weeks, Michael debated on the newly found information provided by the Squip. He actively avoided his friend group choosing to go to the library during lunch or even going as far as ignoring them in class. Maybe they thought he was going through something at home or maybe they just didn’t care. Whatever it was, it wasn’t as if anyone texted him about their concerns or even came talk to him in the first place.

Lying on his bed staring inquisitively at the ceiling, he made his decision.

* * *

**OneandonlyJuliet created a new group chat**

**OneandonlyJuliet added PlayerTwo, GossipLover, PinkBerry69, NotyourValentine, TotallyBi, and CompleteBoss to new chat.**

OneandonlyJuliet: Hey guys, I think there’s something that’s really bothering Michael.

**GossipLover renamed the chat to PITIFUL_CHILDREN.**

OneandonlyJuliet: Jennaaaaa...

GossipLover: No regrets, anyway I thought we all agreed that we shouldn’t try to force Michael to say anything.

PinkBerry69: What’s happening? What’s wrong with Michael?

CompleteBoss: He’s been avoiding us for a while… I thought he might have just been having an off week.

NotyourValentine: Brooke, sweetie, you know I love you, but really?

PinkBerry69: It’s not like I have any classes with him. I only see him during lunch and he hasn’t shown up for a while. -3-

TotallyBi: I‘m not a genius but I‘m pretty sure that’s apart of the problem

PinkBerry69:... Touche -3-

TotallyBi: And where the hell is Heere.

PlayerTwo: I‘m heere

PlayerTwo: ...

PlayerTwo: Okay...who’s the smart ass that messed with my autocorrect settings again. Seriously, this is like the sixth time!!!

GossipLover: ;)

PinkBerry69: ;)

NotyourValentine: ;)

TotallyBi: ;p

CompleteBoss: ;)

PlayerTwo: Really?

TotallyBi: We take this to our graves Heere.

PlayerTwo: I

PlayerTwo: am

PlayerTwo: shook

PlayerTwo: Christine did you know about this?

OneandonlyJuliet: …

OneandonlyJuliet: :)

PlayerTwo: Christine… no…

TotallyBi: Christine yes!

PlayerTwo: ...I hate all of you…

OneandonlyJuliet: Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Has anyone noticed anything else?

CompleteBoss: Dude seems pretty tired whenever he’s in class.

PinkBerry69: Do you think Ram and Kurt are still bothering him?

GossipLover: No, they transferred to some school in Ohio after the video of them bullying Michael got out

CompleteBoss: Remind me never to get on your bad side

GossipLover: Damn right

NotyourValentine: What else could it be then? Are his parents giving him a hard time or something?

PlayerTwo: I don’t think so, they’re barely ever home so I can’t imagine that they’d be the problem

PlayerTwo: I‘ll go check up on him and see what’s wrong.

OneandonlyJuliet: M’kay, tell him I said hi :)

* * *

Jeremy headed to Michael’s house with a cherry slushie in one hand and a plastic bag filled with snacks in the other. He was especially in a good mood considering that his Squip hadn’t been bothering him for a while and was fully prepared to go on an all-night vintage video game marathon while getting to the bottom of what was bothering Michael in the first place. Using the spare key Michael had given him during freshman year, he quietly entered the house and walked sneakily up the stairs fully intending on scaring the shit out of his best friend.

He stopped at the door when he heard Michael’s muffled voice talking to someone through the door.

“Another shipment is coming in a week?” he talking to someone on the phone,“A hundred bucks a bottle?!?...Okay fair enough...Yeah, I know...okay thanks for telling me...I‘ll be by in a week...Same place?...okay,” He hung up.

The voices were too muffled for him to hear the second half of the conversation. Jeremy shook his head and dismissed it, not wanting to eavesdrop he reached for the door handle but paused when Michael began to speak again, “It’s just a contingency plan.”

 _Was someone in the room with him?_ Now Jeremy was curious and he couldn’t help but keep listening.

“I know you’re supposedly only here to help me and I‘m honestly not sure if I even want to get rid of you just yet, but you can’t blame me for wanting to keep some at hand if some other person ends up trying to Squip the school again.”

 _What?_ Blind rage filled Jeremy's vision and he slammed the door open to see that Michael was in fact alone. His eyes widened from his position, arms crossed and leaning on his desk. Michael wasn’t wearing any headphones so he couldn’t have been talking to anyone through them either. 

“Michael...did you-”Jeremy started.

“Shut up!” Michael interrupted, snapping at an empty space near his bed. He seemingly realized that he just blurted that out loud and turned his head towards Jeremy like a deer in the headlights, ”N-not you...” he tried to placate but it had the opposite effect.

It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to realize what Michael just revealed. Jeremy had enough. He dropped the snacks and slushie and immediately headed downstairs only to hear Michael calling out to him.

He nearly made it to the door when Michael grabbed his forearm, “Jeremy, wait. You have to let me expl-”

“How long have you had it?” Jeremy refused to look at him.

Michael let go of his arm and took a deep breath before responding, ”A-a couple weeks…”

“But...” Jeremy asked his voice trembled,”Why the fuck would you get one?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Really? Cause you could have fooled me,” Jeremy was now facing him, his face was absolutely livid, “Was it something I did? Did you want to get revenge or something for the way I treated you before?!?”

“I-it’s...complicated.”

“Is that really all you have to say? Michael, what the actual fuck?”

“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d act like this.”

Jeremy sputtered “Duhh why aren’t you freaking out?”

“I mean they’re not all that bad,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Michael why would you even trust anything it has to say? Don’t you remember all the things my squip forced me to do? It even shocked me for fuck's sake.”

Michael seemed conflicted at first but then his expression suddenly darkened. Tension immediately began to radiate around him and Jeremy was taken aback by the amount of hatred coming from Michael. His best friend rarely ever got mad after all and it was even rarer for him to be mad at Jeremy.

“...Forced you to do?” Michael said his voice barely above a whisper.”What exactly did they force you to do? From what I‘ve heard, you  _chose_ to get the upgrade. You _chose_ to go along with the Squip’s plan to use Brooke. You  _chose_ to block me out.” His voice grew in volume until he nearly screamed the last part.

“Wh-”Jeremy stuttered, “H-how do you know about that?”

“I don’t really think I could trust you anymore to even consider giving you an explanation,” Michael paused,“After twelve years, you’d think that we’ve been through it all.”  

“Wait, Michael-,”Jeremy begged. It was pretty funny how the tables had turned so quickly.

“No...You don’t get to do that. You wouldn’t even give me a chance so why should I let you? The way I see it, you’ve already done what you needed to do to become popular and honestly I was fine with that happy even, but as soon as I was seen as some kind of obstacle, you weren’t afraid to leave me behind,” he was shaking now and his voice wavered,” I‘m sorry I wasn’t good enough for the great Jeremy Heere,” tears were threatening to fall from his eyes, “...Fuck”, he retreated back further into his house

Jeremy was stunned into silence in the doorway. And Michael laughed bitterly.

“You know, I really wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt cause frankly, I genuinely thought that we were best friends." Jeremy had never seen so much hurt and betrayal in Michael’s eyes and he instantly felt even worse knowing that he was the one that caused this, “Even after everything...but they were right...they always have to be right,” he stated absolutely heartbroken.

“Mic-” He took a step forward.

“Just...leave Jeremy,” he took a deep breath,”Please.”

So he left.

Leaving Michael to sob helplessly on the floor with that _thing_ destroying what was left of their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you were wondering or want a clarification, Michael chose to continue being Jeremy’s friend. Cause he’s Michael. And he loved his player two (you decide whether it’s platonically or romantically) *sigh* my poor boyfs...they really didn’t ask for this...but really I think it’s been a long time coming. 
> 
> Next Chapter: The Squad decides what to do after learning about what's happening with Michael. And some truths are revealed to them about how Michael actually obtained a Squip.
> 
> And thanks again for any kudos, bookmarks and/or comments you leave. They all make my day :3


	4. Take Me Inside You. Forever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what did he expect when his Squip said that?
> 
> This takes place right after the last chapter and it’s really dialogue heavy to the point it makes my head hurt. There are way too many characters.
> 
> Oh and ya’ll should probably expect updates to come in one-two weeks in terms of time. While I find writing this stuff relaxing, I also have other stuff to deal with ;p

(Jeremy Pov)

Jeremy was able to collect his thoughts from his initial shock on the walk back to his house. He numbly entered to an empty home as his dad was working the late shift that night. Swiftly going upstairs and flopping tiredly onto his bed, he screamed as loud as he could which was muffled by his pillow. When he finally finished, he brought his phone up to his face still lying on his stomach. He was emotionally exhausted with red puffy eyes while his voice was caught in his throat. He felt an overwhelming feeling that he needed to fix this. The light from his phone provided a stark contrast to the eerie darkness that shadowed his room. Bringing up the group chat, he started to type out.

Player2: Guys… it’s bad. Really bad.

He was surprised to see that the responses were instant.

TotallyBi: Dude, what happened! Do I need to come over there? Is Michael alright?

Pinkberry69: OMG he’s not going to die or anything right?

NotyourValentine: Brooke seriously wtf...But he’s not right?

Player2:No, it’s not that...I mean...god I really fucked up…

TotallyBi: Jeremy, I swear to god if you don’t tell us right now, I‘m going to your house and deck you

CompleteBoss: I would recommend doing it soon cause he literally has one foot out the door

OneandOnlyJuliet: Guys let him take his time. Jeremy just take a deep breath and continue please, we need to know what’s wrong with Michael

GossipLover: Okay so lowkey, it’s 12 o’clock rn, why the hell is everyone awake?

OneandOnlyJuliet: That’s besides the point, we need to figure out what’s wrong with Michael

Player2: I‘m not sure if I should say this through text...can you all come to my house right now

CompleteBoss: Rich is already honking from my car. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

OneandOnlyJuliet: I‘ll have to sneak out but I‘ll be there as soon as I can

NotyourValentine:I‘ll pick up Jenna and Brooke but seriously can you at least give us a hint as to why we’re supposed to be freaking out about Michael

He took a moment before finally typing out his response.

Player2: Michael has a squip

…

Everyone got there in under ten minutes. Jake was visibly shaken and complained to Rich about how many red lights they must have ignored. They were all sitting in the living room staring at Jeremy expectantly.

“I‘m not really sure where to start,” he paused rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “when I got to his house, I heard him talking to someone on the phone in his room and when he finally hung up, I was about to go in but I heard him start talking to someone else...”

“And… then what?” Jenna interrupted impatiently, only to be shushed by Christine.

“I only heard tidbits of the conversation but I‘m pretty sure that I heard him talking to his squip.”

“How did you know?” Brooke inquired.

“He was mentioning some kind of plan about being prepared if someone else ended up with a squip but the thing is when I opened the door no one else was in there. He even confirmed that he didn’t even want to get rid of it either.”

“How can you be so sure? Did you ask him why he got the squip?” Jake had a thoughtful look on his face.

“All he could come up with was ‘It’s complicated’,”Jeremy motioned with air quotes, “I‘m not even sure what that means.”

“And...” Rich was visibly tense since the beginning of the conversation.  

“What do you mean _and_ ” Jeremy shrieked.

“Let’s backtrack a bit, _Jere._ ” he had a somewhat knowing look,”cause a couple things don’t really add up. Michael’s not here to share his side of the story and I don’t think he’d ever get a squip willingly. How did you react when you found out he had a squip?”

…

...

Jeremy sheepishly shifted his gaze towards the carpet which he found far more interesting all of a sudden, “...I blew up at him” using the tone of a scolded child.

“And you expected for him to give you an explanation? Seriously what did you expect?” Rich said accusingly.

“I -i m-mean how would you have reacted if you found out?!?” Jeremy sputtered out.

“Well I probably wouldn’t have acted like a complete-”

“Guys, calm down. We can’t change what happened and even if Jeremy made a mistake, we have to figure out what we’re going to do now with Michael.” Christine placated.

The two physically relaxed but refused to look at each other.

“But what can we do? Didn’t Jeremy say that Michael actually wanted to keep his squip?” Brooke said worriedly.

“I‘m not an expert on this but didn’t the both of you feel the same way when you got a squip in the first place?” Jake gestured to Jeremy and Rich. When they both nodded, he added, “So maybe it’s the same in this situation and Michael doesn’t even realize what he’s saying or what his squip is doing.”

“What are you saying?” Jenna asked.

“Well, maybe Michael thinks that the Squip is helping him when it really isn’t.”

“So what do you propose we do cause we don’t exactly have any Mountain Dew Red on hand unless Michael told you how he got some in the first place?” Chloe looked towards Jeremy.

“...I know _where_ he got it last time but I‘m not really sure _how_ to get in touch with that whole inner circle.” Jeremy explained.

Everyone sighed and began to think of another plan.

“Maybe we don’t need him to drink Mountain Dew Red….” Rich has a thoughtful look on his face, “What if we can get him to drink some beer and then when the Squips off we’d be able to see if it’s forcing him into doing anything. Maybe he’d even tell us how to get some Mountain Dew Red.”

When everyone seemingly liked the plan, Chloe offered, “I could host a party on Friday at my house and we could it then.”

“Do you think he’d willingly agree to drink the beer though?” Brooke said skeptically.

“We could spike the punch,” Rich suggested.

“I don’t think we should trick him into drinking it. That’s a complete breach of his trust.” Christine said with a frown.

“I think we need to at the bigger picture. We’ll start by offering him the beer but if we can’t get him to drink any, we need to consider if his sanity is worth more than his trust.” Rich for once had a very serious expression on his face, “Having a Squip is not good...” he had a distant look in his eyes as if recalling something.

Jake placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, “Hey, you okay?”

Rich shook the hand off, “Yeah, yeah it...just the whispers...you know”, he looked at the floor.

Jeremy looked at him incredulously, “It still talks to you?”, he said gently.

“It’s not activated or anything but it still sends messages here and there. Your’s doesn’t?” Rich turned towards him.

“No, it hasn’t annoyed me in a long time. I just thought it faded away or something.”  Noticing that everyone was looking at him confused, he couldn’t help but ask, “What?”

“I still hear mine too,” Jenna said. When the others had similar responses, she asked: “Are you sure it hadn’t just chosen to stay quiet.”

“No, I‘m not sure when it stopped speaking exactly, but I haven’t heard from it for a couple of weeks.”

“O-K, that’s a bit freaky” Brooke admitted.

“Well whatever’s going on with your squip, we should figure it out after we’ve dealt with Michael’s. I would personally love to get Chloe v2.0 out of my head. A person can only listen to a computerized version of themselves for so long.” Chloe added.

“You’re squip is yourself?”

“I mean realistically I‘m the only person who I‘d listen to” Chloe shrugged simply, and no one moved to disagree.

“Okay, back to the matter at hand, Michael doesn’t know that Jeremy told any of us what happened, so before the party let’s all try to ask him individually to get a sense of what we’re dealing with so doesn’t feel like we’re ganging up on him.” Christine interrupted.

Everyone nodded satisfied with the plan.

* * *

(Michael’s Pov)

Later that day

When Michael was finally able to calm down from the confrontation with Jeremy, he returned to his room to go to sleep but also making sure to throw away the snacks the melted slushie Jeremy left behind. When he woke up feeling marginally better, he went to set up the gaming systems in his room. Video games had really been his only comfort these past few weeks.

His squip materialized and looked at him thoughtfully when he returned to his bed controller on hand. They tilted their head to the side with their arms crossed.

“Michael?” They called.

“What?” He responded lazily not even looking up from the screen as the game started up.

“I am going to perform an update on my systems” when Michael looked at them accusingly, he clarified “This isn’t an upgrade. Those are far more different. What I mean is that I am going to be performing a system diagnostics check to see if I am able to repair the glitches or see if there are any others you should be concerned about.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“I mean they’ve only been a complete pain in the ass so why not?”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

They looked at him unamused but he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Whatever you have to do, it’s fine. I certainly don’t want Jeremy’s memories replaying in my head over and over again and honestly how could anything possibly get worse.”

“I hope you realize that the fact that you actually mentioned that, only makes the likeliness of unfavorable situations to increase.”

“Seriously?”

“No. However, I am still trying to understand _ironic humor_ in order to better understand humans.”

Michael rolled his eyes although there was no sign of annoyance in his gesture, “Well shit. We, humans, are going to be in real trouble if computers can figure out the secrets of human behavior before we do.” he said amused, “Is there anything I have to do while you’re doing the system update?”

“Not in particular. However, I will have to temporarily shut off until Friday night, so I won’t be able to help you at all until then.”

“That’s fine although when you start back up, you gotta teach me about your programming.”

“I doubt humans would be able to fully comprehend the complexity of my code.”

“But didn’t humans create you? In the nineties no less? I mean how could you have discontinued Mountain Dew Red if you weren’t.”

They narrowed their eyes,”...Yes...however, I‘m not about to indulge you in my origin.”

“Oh what a tragedy,” Michael said dramatically.

“Anyway before I start, I just want to warn you. You should try to not to put yourself in any type of risk. We still don’t know the full implications of not digesting an entire squip.”

“Can you be any more cryptic?”

“Yes,”they deadpanned, “But I‘m serious. Don’t willingly put yourself in any type of danger. That includes weed too. It may result in unfavorable outcomes.” The Squip instructed. Michael looked to the side. “Michael,” They warned.

He tsked and conceded, “Fine.”

“Excellent, I‘ll leave you alone while I start the systems diagnostics.”

The room grew quiet leaving Michael to his own thoughts. He looked at the clock which read ten am and leaned back so that his head was now against the wall. He sighed before facing the television screen once again pressing start to play some solo Apocalypse of the Damned. A notification popped up on his phone about some party that Chloe was hosting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re wondering Chloe’s squip is based off a conversation between joe tracs and a fan. Apparently, Brooke’s is Mary-Kate Olsen if you were curious. 
> 
> And I stand by the theory that Michael's a computer/tech nerd. Cause I want to and no one can stop me. :p
> 
> Next Chapter: Things occur. I guess...with Michael and other people. Party... horray...Really I‘m not sure if I can say much without spoiling it.
> 
> Also, again thank you for any bookmarks, kudos, and comments. Never stop being all of your lovely selves. :3c


	5. Countdown

**Monday**

Michael woke up with a sudden urge to listen to Hamilton that morning so that was exactly what he was jamming out to as he arrived at school. Though considering how Christine practically worshipped Lin Manuel Miranda, he wasn’t too surprised to have become completely infatuated with the beats of the music.

The morning itself was relatively calm, which after weeks of having his thoughts invaded by the Squip, wasn’t completely unwelcome. He could hear a slight hiss of static in his head indicating how the Squip was definitely still there.  

“Handsome, boy does he know it. Peach fuzz and he can’t he even grow it~” he started to sing along,“I wanna take him far away from this place but I turn and ahhh-” he closed his locker door just to see Christine herself standing in behind it. There were literal stars in her eyes.

“Michael! When did you start listening to Hamilton?!?!"She was practically buzzing with excitement,"Whenst?!?!” 

“Oh-uhh I guess I just felt like listening to some.” Damn. Even Michael would admit that Christine was without a doubt one of the most adorable human beings alive.

“Isn’t it amazing?" she swooned,"The friendship, the heartbreak, I practically cry whenever I listen to It’s Quiet Uptown.” She paused to take a breath and compose herself once more,” And don’t even get me started with Aaron Burr. He’s one of the saddest characters in the whole musical. Even his daughter dies before h-”

“Christine” Michael interrupted putting his hands on her shoulders to calm her,”I‘ve only listened up to Satisfied.”

She pouted at first but continued “Well now I fully expect you to have listened to the entirety of it by tomorrow to tell me what you think Michael Mell,”She had a devious look in her eye.

“Yes Ma’am” he mock saluted her letting out a small chuckle but soon noticed the troubled expression she wore,“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I mean. I definitely am but how are you? I heard that you and Jeremy got into a fight,” She said worriedly.

Michael sighed knowing that this would happen and looked at her skeptically,“What did he tell you exactly?”

“Nothing specific,”there was a slight hitch in her voice but Michael quickly dismissed it,”But it seemed like you both said things that you didn’t mean.”

Michael clicked his tongue before rubbing the back of his neck nervously,“Well, he’s not exactly my favorite person right now,” he said solemnly,”And I don’t really want to get you involved considering how you two are dating.”

“Dating? Michael, Jeremy and I broke up three weeks ago,” Christine explained before also adding,“It was a mutual break up. I mean, I guess we kind of knew that we were better off as friends," She tilted her head curiously,"He didn’t tell you any of this?”

Michael’s eye widened for a moment before shaking his head,”I guess it never came up,” he shrugged.

She put a comforting hand on his upper arm,“Well whatever’s going on with you two, you should know that we’re all here for you. You’ve been acting kinda aloof lately.” She gave a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, o-of course.” the crack in his voice betrayed him but he chose to instead walk away pretending not to notice the way that Christine’s frown deepened.

* * *

**Tuesday**

Later Michael would regard his complete bout of bravery on the fact that he was grouchy from the beginning. He woke from a cold sweat because of the strangest dream he couldn't even remember. It felt different from all the other dreams he had but he couldn't pinpoint what actually happened. He could vaguely remember a lot of yelling and things getting knocked over but other than that he drew a blank. Realizing he only had five minutes left before school started, he cursed and rushed to get ready for the day.

By the time it was fourth period, Michael wasn’t taking anyone’s shit. He was thirty minutes late because of all the fumbling he did around the house (his Squip would definitely be commenting about his inability to function without them later) and considering how he was binging on all the Hamilton bootlegs he could find online last night, he didn’t really have much sleep. He even forgot his music theory homework on his desk, so yeah Michael was having a particularly bad day. It was during the transition from fourth period to fifth when Michael encountered a visibly shaking sophomore being harassed by Dustin Kropp.

In most situations, Michael would keep walking, though in a brief moment of adrenaline he chose to intervene seeing as the underclassman was on the verge of crying.

“Hey!” He called out getting everyone’s attention. All the students who were watching parted out of his way.

“What do you want Mell? This has got nothing to do with you.” Dustin said unfazed by Michael’s intervention.

“What’s your damage Kropp? Just leave the poor kid alone.”Michael could see the sophomore trembling from where he was pinned.

“Just move along. Rich and Jake aren’t going to be here to save you this time.” He threatened.

“Or you’ll what” Michael challenged with a smirk and crossed arms.

Dustin took that as a cue to turn towards him and immediately go for a punch. A couple people gasped and before Michael could comprehend it, he dodged and pulled on the offending arm. Hard. When Dustin landed on the ground with a thump, Michael was immediately there one knee digging into Dustin’s back and one of his hands grabbing Dustin’s wrist painfully so that it was held behind the attacker’s back. He was surprised with what seemingly came out of a scene he’d be reading in a comic book before he was promptly overthrown and pinned to the ground by Dustin. Michael braced himself for a hit seeing the fury in Dustin’s eyes when a teacher finally showed up.

“What the hell are you two doing?” they scolded, “Stop this instant and the both of you head to the principal's office right now.”

An awkward silence there and a few missed periods later, they were both let go. Michael was able to get out scotch free considering how the sophomore spoke up for him coupled with the fact that he barely hurt Dustin. Speaking of whom, got a week suspension.

He was apparently, the talk of the school afterward gaining a pat on the back from Rich who was laughing his ass out when Michael confirmed the story. Rich subsequently asked him if he wanted to come to his house and get high but remembering the squip’s warning he denied saying that he had a mountain of homework to do when he got home. Michael earned a raised eyebrow from Jeremy who was quietly standing with Rich although, after a couple seconds of locked eye contact, they both promptly chose to look in the opposite direction. If Rich noticed anything, he didn’t say.

* * *

**Wednesday**

It was fairly uneventful on Wednesday. He was ~~kidnapped~~ approached by Chloe and Brooke during lunch to go on a quick Pinkberry run. He was pleasantly surprised when Brooke practically shoved her spoon of mango frozen yogurt into his mouth. It was a surprise sure and he was typically a mint chocolate chip ice cream kind of guy but Michael was a sucker for all things mango. Dried mangoes were his favorite snack after all.

It was after school, however, when Michael received a call from his hook up in Spencer’s Gifts.

“Hey, the shipment came in early today, so if you want to stop by there all yours,”they explained through the phone.

“Yeah, I‘ll be right over. A hundred each right?” The phone was wedged between his ear and shoulder as he was looking going through the money. With a confirmation, he hung up and went to retrieve the discontinued nineties drink.

Later that night, with a lighter wallet and three of the four bottles he purchased tucked safely under his bed, he began a staring match with one of the bottles he stationed on his desk.

His head was leaning on his folded fingers supported by his elbows on the desk and stared intensely at the Mountain Dew Red sitting in front of him. One drop was all it took. It would end everything. He wouldn’t have any more unwanted dreams and sarcastic whispers. The Squip definitely opened his eyes about his best friend sure yet he couldn’t help but think that he was unintentionally invading Jeremy’s privacy.

He took the bottle in his hand and untwisted the cap. He stared into the red liquid sloshing around in the container and brought it up to his mouth.

It was centimeters away before he paused and brought it back down putting the cap back on. Perhaps it was selfish of him to do but he still wanted to ask the Squip a couple of things.

* * *

**Thursday**

Something was definitely up between his friends.The way that they subtly sidestepped into his path a couple times more than usual. And the looks he got when they thought he wasn’t paying attention. From Jeremy, sure. They weren’t on the best of terms after all but the occasional sympathetic glance here and there was really starting to confuse Michael. They definitely knew more than they were letting on by the way they all seemed to ask if something was bothering him which genuinely confused him even more considering how they all didn’t seem to care the few weeks prior.

During lunch, Jenna casually brought up the party that Chloe was hosting the next day and Michael immediately noticed how they were all seemingly staring at him (well aside from Jeremy who was sitting farthest from him at the table, yet Michael could tell that he was definitely paying attention).

“W-what?”

“Well, are you coming to the party?”Rich asked.

“Nah, I was kinda planning on doing other stuff tomorrow night,” he raised an eyebrow,”You know I hate big parties.”

“That’s the thing. It’s only a going to be the eight of us. So now you don’t have an excuse.”Brooke interjected but was softly nudged by Chloe.

“E-eight of us?”He took a nervous glance at Jeremy, “Uhh-yeah I don’t think that a good ide-”

“Please Michael,”Christine had the biggest puppy eyes,”You don’t even have to stay the whole time.”

It became a lost cause to refuse now. Michael sighed “I guess I‘ll stop by,” he offered, though was surprised to see them all become less tense. It was strange, to say the least making Michael even more suspicious, yet he chose to disregard it when the subject turned to plans for spring break that was only a week away.

…

Later that day when Michael came home, he discarded his backpack onto the floor and went to his computer to play some World of Warcraft with his online friend Nicole. Except when he motioned to turn on the monitor a small electric shock ran from his hand to the screen. He flinched and immediately recoiled examining his hand. His fingertips were blackened but overall fine.

Looking back to the monitor a notice showed up:

Reboot in Progress

Estimation of Completion:

23:59:43

It continued to countdown. And of all the freakiest things to happen, that by far took the cake. But at that point, Michael was only annoyed by the fact that he could no longer play on his computer assuming that this had to do with the Squip finishing its diagnostics check.

He took out his phone and synced the countdown to a timer and once again turned back to the monitor. He slowly inched his hand closer experimentally but was fortunately not shocked. He sighed a breath of relief and chose to play something on a console instead.

* * *

**Friday**

Friday couldn’t have come any sooner. Michael felt a bit defeated after writing a graded essay during second period on a book he basically sparknoted the morning before (we’ve all done it). But by the time it was eighth period, having been sufficiently filled up with his usual negimaki roll and blue raspberry slushie, he felt a bit better. Nothing notable happened after that point until after school as Michael was getting ready for the party. Choosing to wear a space invaders sweater instead of his usual red hoodie and then glanced at the timer on his monitor. There was only an hour left on the countdown and he could have probably waited but he was already fifteen minutes late and it was a twenty-minute ride to Chloe’s. He contemplated flaking out but chose against it since he promised Christine that he would at least show up.

Pocketing his phone and keys he spared one more glance at the mirror before making his way towards his car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I‘ll be honest, I absolutely hate all things mint flavored. But I feel like Michael would definitely be into that flavor of ice cream.  
> Speaking of which quick question, is Michael OOC? I mean I am trying to make him a bit more angtsy cause of all his boyf problems right now but is it a bit too much? I‘m definitely projecting through him a bit but I also want to represent him accurately.  
> Initially, this chapter was going to include the party but I need to think a couple things through because some major things are happening soon. Therefore~
> 
> A challenge to my readers: If I get seven comments in the next 36 hours of this chapter's release I will expedite the process and update on Sunday :p (10/29/17). Possibly multiple chapters as well, possibly ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Thank you for any comments, kudos and bookmarks. Never stop being all of your lovely selves. 
> 
> Next Chapter: THE PARTY


	6. Jeremy in the Bathroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Except he's not completely all by himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, y'all probably hate that this is a quickie, but I only had two hours to work on this because I have other things that need to get done by tonight which trumps writing this fic altogether, unfortunately. So yeah, sorry about that but there will definitely be a chapter up tomorrow which will technically be part two of this one. And no, I was not about to rush the next couple of scenes because they would have been really crappy. And thank you for all the feedback regarding my question.

Michael arrived at the party forty-five minutes late because of traffic and everyone already appeared to have been waiting for him. He was greeted inside by Chloe who returned to her spot by Christine. The bubbly girl was seemingly immersed in talking to Brooke about Broadway actors. Michael let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that Jeremy was nowhere to be seen, so he chose to join Rich on the sidelines of Jenna and Jake’s beer pong game that the latter was losing. He chuckled when Jenna again managed to sink the ping pong ball into a cup much to Jake’s dismay.

Rich suddenly wrapped his arm around Michael’s shoulders saying that they were next after the game ended, although, after a quick glance at his phone, he opted to excuse himself into the bathroom seeing as their only twenty-two minutes left before the Squip reactivated. He swore to have seen a look of panic in Rich’s eyes although it was quick enough for Michael to say that it could have just been a trick of the light.

Making his way upstairs by Chloe’s directions he walked up to the second door on the right before opening the door to the bathroom.

Some higher being must have been laughing down at him when Michael came face to face with the person he was least expecting to find in the bathtub at that particular moment.

“...Hey Jeremy.”

* * *

 (Jeremy’s Pov)

Everyone showed up relatively ten minutes before the party was supposed to start, excluding Michael, of course, so that they could make sure everyone knew what to do. Snacks were set up in the kitchen and the alcohol was stashed inside the fridge.

They planned to invite Michael to a game of beer pong a couple minutes after his arrival in order to deactivate the squip. But if they were honest, they probably hadn’t thought out what to do afterward. Hopefully, Michael would see sense and they could convince him to get rid of his Squip once and for all. Happy ending for all of them. Horray...

Jeremy kept glancing at his phone as minutes ticked by and he grew more and more nervous as time moved on. Rich soon announced that Michael texted him that he was on his way and everyone became restless. Jeremy was pacing around until Christine grabbed his hand and sat him down on the couch. Jenna was half-heartedly talking to Jake and Chloe about the latest Bachelorette episode while Rich and Brooke were setting up the beer pong table.

Twenty minutes passed before, Jeremy excused himself to get some beer from the fridge but upon arriving in the kitchen, he immediately walked past the refrigerator and up the stairs to go to the bathroom instead. Entering he chose to sit on the edge of the bathtub forgetting to lock the door behind him. He leaned forward so that his face was in his hands while his elbows were resting on his knees. Letting out an exasperated sigh, before looking up at the mirror, he noticed that his hair was tousled after the hundredth time of running his hands through it and his leg was jumping up and down because of how anxious he was becoming. Climbing into the bathtub, he chose to sit there a couple minutes before going back downstairs to see if their plan had succeeded.

He didn’t however, expect the bathroom door to open a few minutes later to reveal Michael on the other side, his eyes widening in surprise.

An eternity of complete silence and a stare down occurred, neither of the two reacting until Michael opened his mouth to say,”Hey Jeremy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh heh
> 
> dem cliffhangers dough, am I right? *silently surrenders to getting hit by all the tomatoes being thrown*
> 
> Sorry again, as I wasn't even aware of the mountain of things I had to get done today and thank you all for being your wonderful selves.


	7. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some quality boyf to boyf action interrupted by a Wintergreen tic-tac.

“Hey, Michael” Jeremy finally responded after what felt like forever.

“A bit ironic finding you here, huh” he responded, though upon seeing Jeremy’s confused expression, he tsked,”Of course,” he muttered and turned to leave.

Jeremy hurriedly stumbled out of the bathtub nearly falling over but instead grabbed onto the back of Michael’s sweater to steady himself. When Jeremy finally found his footing, he still refused to let go locking Michael in place. However, the look of utter annoyance on his friend’s face as their eyes met once again made Jeremy let go instantly as they stumbled into the hallway. Sputtering a quick apology he took a step back when Michael decided to face him.

Michael crossed his arms and asked, “What is it, Jeremy?”

He took a deep breath before responding,“L-Look, I  don’t know what your Squip said about me exactly and I know you’re angry at me for blowing up at you b-before. I-I‘m really am sorry for that, I j-just, I mean, I want to u-uh,”

It was strange to see Jeremy fumbling over his words when he was speaking to Michael considering how he hadn’t stuttered in front of Michael specifically since they were in sixth grade. But oddly enough, it gave Michael a strange sense of satisfaction. “Just say what’s on your mind Jeremy,” growing impatient as the countdown was steadily approaching zero.

“W-why? You still haven’t told me why you got a Squip” sympathy followed by brief panic appeared in Michael’s eyes but Jeremy quickly grabbed onto his upper arms he make him stay put, “Please, can’t you, at least, tell me that much. I‘ll listen this time, I swear.”

Michael wouldn’t meet his eyes choosing to look downwards instead, “It’s better that you don’t know,”Jeremy couldn’t make out his expression, “It might be better for the both of us if you just pretended not to know.”

Jeremy looked at him critically,”You can’t expect me to just accept that Michael,” examining him once again he caught a brief glimpse of something spidering out from the back of his friend’s neck. He instinctively let go of Michael right arm to touch the scar that Jeremy was sure wasn’t there a month ago, “It’s been shocking you, hasn’t it?” Jeremy was completely horror-stricken. Michael recoiled from the contact and was finally able to free himself from Jeremy’s grasp.

It was far less noticeable than his or even Rich’s but it was there. And the very thought of Michael getting shocked by an insane supercomputer shook Jeremy to his very core.

“Only a couple times” he tried to explain adding to Jeremy’s horror,” but only when I try to get high...which was regrettably not fun” Michael bit his bottom lip.

“Do you even realize what you’re even saying right now? How do I know it’s not the Squip talking?”Jeremy attempted to reason, “You were the one who told me about that kid who wound up in a mental hospital because of his Squip, so now I‘m asking you, have you even considered what it’s doing to you?”

Glancing one more time at his phone, only three minutes remained. Michael needed to get out of this situation _now_ or risk having a complete breakdown in front of Jeremy, only making it harder for him to explain how the Squip was actually helping him. Except Jeremy noticed the simple act and became even more suspicious.“Are you expecting a text or something?”

Michael ignored him choosing to push past him walking into the bathroom. Before Jeremy could even react, he swiftly locked the door behind him in one movement. Sputtering Jeremy immediately began to bang on the door, “Dude!?! Seriously? What the hell? You can’t expect me to just let this go.” The banging caught the attention of those downstairs who began to wonder where the two boys had gone. Said teenagers were now currently watching the scene play out from the top of the stairs.

“Just leave me alone Jeremy” he could hear Michael say through the door.

Pain flared in Michael’s head as the Squip was finally starting to reboot. He let out a muffled cry hoping that they wouldn’t be able to hear him through the door.

“Michael! Are you alright? What’s happening?” Fuck.

“I-I‘m fine.” he tried to reassure but the crack in his voice betrayed him.

**Calibration in process. Please excuse some mild discomfort.**

Michael was about to slap the living shit out of the programmer who called the intense pain _mild._ He gripped his head that felt like it was splitting in half.

**Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated.**

“Bro, are you sure you’re alright” Michael heard Rich’s voice through the door. The banging intensified.

For a brief moment, Michael believed that it was over except it immediately returned tenfold.

**Discomfort level may increase.**

Tears were coming down Michael’s face. When the Squip initially activated, Michael had a similar experience, although it felt so much worse this time. His head felt detached from his body as his forehead was leaning against the cold tiled floor when his knees could no longer support him.

**Access Procedure Complete**

And the pain was no more.

* * *

 

(Jeremy’s Pov)

Everyone became panicked when they heard Michael cry out. Rich knocked on the door furiously willing the person inside to open it except when it didn’t he began to ram it with his shoulder. Jake immediately grabbed his arm before he could continue a third time and turned to Chloe asking if there was some kind of key that they could use to open the door instead. When she shook her head, Jeremy was ready to ram the door down himself (not that it would have been any more effective than Rich’s attempts) desperately wanting to know if Michael was okay.

Except a click was heard and suddenly everyone’s attention turned to the door. Michael appeared from the other side with a blue tinge in his eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger? damn, wonder how many people are going to pissed cause of that o.O 
> 
> Except I have a reason. One being its Halloween tomorrow. So It's nearly 12 and I need to be up by three just to get ready. And secondly, I will not be able to update in the next couple of days due to personal stuff going on. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Some truths are told.
> 
> Happy Halloween and thank you all for being your lovely selves.


	8. Don't Drink and Squip Kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( **“Squip speaking in Michael’s head”** “Michael thinking back”)  
>  And I don’t know why but there is a disney reference.

(Jeremy’s POV)

Shivers crept it’s way down Jeremy’s back as Michael stared at him intensely with glassy eyes. Except just as Jeremy was about to react to the sudden coldness in his eyes, the blue tinge disappeared as quickly as it came. Michael blinked owlishly at the scene before him. All the other party guests were staring at him expectantly and some seemed cautious at his sudden appearance.

“Um.. You guys really know how to put a guy on the spot lately,” Michael nervously laughed, “Is there something you’re expecting me to say?” he said to no one in particular.

Christine was the first to react, “We heard you guys fighting from downstairs, so we came up to see what was happening? We weren’t trying to eavesdrop or anything but I‘m pretty sure we all heard you yelp when you were in the bathroom.”

“It was nothing.” He responded a bit too smoothly. “I just...slipped,”

“We both know that you didn’t _just_ slip” Jeremy responded defensively but Michael only regarded him with a curious head tilt.

“Let it go, Jeremy. ” Michael tsked in annoyance.

“That’s just the thing,” Rich interjected without skipping a beat, “This isn’t something _we_ could let go. We all know about you having a squip, bro. So cut the bullshit.” An underlying tone of worry was easily projected in his statement, “What actually happened while you were in there?”He bit his bottom lip nervously and stated gentler “We’re all worried about you.”

Michael didn’t seem the least bit surprised by the sudden confession and if anything he seemed even more annoyed. He readjusted his glasses and took a deep breath.

* * *

(Michael’s Pov)

( **“Michael, your behavior right now is only causing them to become increasingly suspicious”**

“Is there any way I could get out of this?”

**“Nothing that wouldn’t involve unfavorable outcomes. All options would only result in cutting ties with them completely or causing them to become more extreme in their attempts to ‘help’ you.”**

“Any suggestions then?”

 **“I suspect that it would be in your best interest if you decided the next course of actions on your own.”** )

Michael felt his eye twitch in annoyance from yet another cryptic answer.

(“Thanks for nothing you useless tic-tac” he responded sarcastically.)

Looking back towards everyone’s faces, he began to think about what he should do. Once he finally made up his mind he started heading downstairs motioning for the others to follow. Michael settled in a chair from the dining area chair, straddling its back while facing everyone as they sat down on the sectional sofa. Jeremy chose to stand while leaning on the edge of the sofa next to Christine. The squip took a spot standing behind him (not that anyone else could see).

A sudden realization hit Michael.

“This party was supposed to be some kind of intervention. Wasn’t it?” he questioned.

No one denied or agreed to the statement but turning his head behind him he gained a quick confirmation from the Squip who was reviewing his memories. Both Rich and Jeremy saw this and immediately understood what Michael was looking at.

“Michael, we-” Rich started but stopped when Michael raised a hand motioning him to stop.

“It’s definitely not helping with my social anxiety either way” he cheekily added with a grin although Jeremy would probably be able to tell that he wasn’t completely lying ”But it’s behind us now, let’s move on and get to the point,” he said firmly with a determined look.

There was a period of tense quiet before Brooke was the first to speak up, “How long has it been inside your head?”

Michael thought back to when the Squip first came along,”Around a month now.”

“Who is it?” She was softly nudged by Chloe who gave her a look.”I mean we were all wondering it.”

“Now is not the right time hon.” She deadpanned and Brooke all but pouted.

They all failed to see the brief panic in Michael’s eyes but he was able to quickly conceal it afterwards. He nervously chuckled at his friend’s curiosity, “It’s uh.. Danny DeVito” he lied.

“Any other pressing questions?” he inquired.

“I think what we all want to know is why you got the Squip in the first place,” Jake stated.

Michael carefully thought out his next words before glancing at everyone else’s face taking a couple more seconds to look at Jeremy before sheepishly stating, “That. I can’t...tell you.”

Complaints and noises of contempt were heard afterward and Michael could only shrink in on himself. He could feel his Squip staring at him from behind and Christine, who has yet to make a comment, was simply looking at him with a thoughtful expression.

“Dude seriously, why can’t you trust us? The past few months couldn’t have meant nothing to you, can it?”Rich asked.

“That’s not why-”Michael started.

“We’re only trying to help you here,” Jenna interrupted.

“I know that but-” Michael futilely attempted.

“How do we know your Squip isn’t forcing you to keep this from us? You’ve been avoiding us all for weeks, Mell,”Chloe accused, “I don’t know but it seems pretty suspicious to me that you suddenly think you’re too cool for all of us.”

“They’re not the one that’s telling me to avoid all of you,” Michael stated a bit louder than he should have. He noticed that he had left his place on the chair and was now standing. His heart was beating out of his chest as everyone was stunned into silence by his sudden confession.

He was done backing down, “I didn’t want to get guys involved with...” he gestured by tapping his temple with his right hand. Michael let out a breath that he didn’t know he was keeping in, “There are a couple things that I‘m still not exactly prepared to tell you guys regarding why I got the Squip but I haven’t been avoiding you all because I‘m was trying to be a jerk.” He gripped the front of his sweater with his left hand, “A lot happened the last couple of weeks and there are moments when I wake up and can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t anymore. Moments when my head feels like it’s been spilt into two, placed into a blender only to be put back together with cheap ass craft glue you buy from the dollar store. Moments when I feel like there are so many voices in my head telling me that everything I‘ve ever believed in was a lie.” he paused,”Then all of a sudden, just like that,” he snapped his fingers, ”those moments disappear.”

No one dared to speak.

“But… there are things that I want, no _need_ answers to. And it honestly feels like they’re the only one who’ll give me a straight answer.” His squip raised an eyebrow intrigued by his statement. Michael threw his head back to look up towards the ceiling carefully so that his glasses wouldn’t fall off, “It’s selfish. And I might just be the biggest idiot in the world but I need you guys to trust me.”

He looked back down to see everyone’s expressions. They were all looking at him sympathetically which for confused him before he looked down to see that his hands were trembling violently.

Michael brought his hands up, just below chest level to examine them more carefully. It was absolutely terrifying when he couldn’t get it to stop. He turned his head back to the Squip only to see them with a virtual screen in front of them, seemingly trying to figure out a way to make the shaking stop. No, he was not about to have a breakdown in front of all of them. That was simply not an option. He suddenly eyed down the front door which was only a couple yards away. He could make a run for it and—.

Slender hands were suddenly surrounding his, snapping him back to the scene in front of him. He turned his head back to see that Christine had risen from her spot and was now in front of him, gently holding onto his trembling hands.

Maybe it was because his squip finally found the right receptors in his brain or maybe it was because of Christine’s kindness but his hands finally stopped shaking.

Christine pulled him into an embrace,”Are you okay? Michael.”

Michael was taken aback by the sincerity in her voice, “I...”

“We can’t always tell what you’re thinking and the past few months after the play were hard for all of us but I‘d like to think that we’re all friends.”

Michael couldn’t help but hug her back. He wanted to believe her. That everything he learned from the Squip was all some elaborate attempt for them to get revenge on Jeremy. He clenched his eyes shut and held onto Christine helplessly like a lifeline as her own grip seemed to tighten supportively. Michael allowed himself to pretend that everything was alright.

Seconds. Minutes. He didn’t know how long he stayed in that position before he finally withdrew from her. Everyone looked away trying not to invade their moment. That is, except Jeremy who only stared at him with an indistinguishable expression but Michael was only focused on the soft smile Christine gave him, “Are you sure that this is something you want?”

Michael couldn’t find his voice so he simply nodded.

“Okay.”Christine responded before turning back to everyone else,”I think we should trust Michael.”

Everyone looked at her like she had grown two heads.

“Christine-” Michael started bewildered.

She turned back to him,“I want you to know that we’re all looking out for you and when you’re ready to tell us whatever’s bothering you, we’ll be there to listen.”

“I think Christine’s right.”Michael motioned his head up to Brooke,”We shouldn’t have pushed you.” she nervously rubbed her arm, “We’re your friends now so you should know that we’ll always have your back.”

Jenna, Chloe and Jake all looked at each other before hesitantly agreeing yet Rich took a couple more moments to gaze at Michael intently before conceding,”I still don’t trust Squips but after everything that’s happened but I trust you to make the right decision,” His serious expression transformed into a mischievous grin, ”I‘m not saying that it’s not a terrible decision but well-” Rich shrugged letting out a quick laugh.

Michael couldn’t help but chuckle.

Perhaps he was foolish to think it was going to work out.

“I still don’t accept this,” Jeremy finally intervened.

“Jeremy...”Christine called.

“No. How can we know that his Squip isn’t the one talking to us? What if his Squip is just trying to get us to back off? He could easily be tricking us.”

“You can’t possibly think that this has been just one huge lie,” Jake questioned.

“Why not? There was one time when my squip made me say that my dad was an alcoholic so that I‘d get closer to Rich. How do we know that this isn’t the same?”

“Because, tallass, this is about being there for him” Rich increasingly became annoyed with him rather than his confession. He already knew that Jeremy had lied back then.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to let some psychotic computer chip have free reign over my best friend.”He firmly stated. He grabbed a shot-sized bottle of vodka (that was supposed to be used as a last resort if Michael somehow avoided the beer pong game) from under the coffee table and walked up to him. Jeremy brought it up gesturing for him to take it stating, “If you down this and still tell us the same story, then I‘ll believe you.”

A voice suddenly rang in his head. ( **“Michael, I would strongly advise against this.”** )

Similar disagreements could be heard from the others. “This shouldn't be necessary” and “Jeremy what has gotten into you” could be vaguely heard but Jeremy continued to stare intensely at him determined.

( **“Michael, this could lead to a seriously terrible outcome. I am certain of it. I still have not discovered a way to repair the glitch so accepting his offer may be dangerous.”** )

Their voice was ignored as Michael continued to look down at the bottle before he looked back up to meet Jeremy’s eyes. After a brief moment of consideration, he brought his hands up and accepted the vodka bottle.

( **“Michae-”** “I _know._ But I need him to see that you’re not puppeteering my actions.” **“You must think about your own safety beforehand. I doubt you've taken into consideration the true extent of what you are about to do.”** )

Michael stared at the bottle in hand and then to Christine who spoke up, “You don’t have anything to prove.”

“I realize that Chris,” he responded.

(“I also realize that I‘m probably about to do something pretty stupid.” **“Michael, wait...”** )

It was too late. In one swift movement. Michael had already begun to down the vodka. After he finished, his lips puckered from the taste and he clenched his eye shut expecting something to happen.

Minutes passed by and nothing happened, prompting him to cautiously open one eye before the other and breathing out a sigh of relief. Michael once more turned to Jeremy, “Do you believe me n-”

All kinds of pain infiltrated Michael’s senses as he crumpled to the ground. He felt like he was being continuously shocked by lightning as all he could register was the pain. He could vaguely hear someone screaming. Were those his screams? He wouldn’t be able to tell until later.

Michael could feel a hand on his shoulder before it suddenly recoiled away.

He could taste blood in his mouth from nearly biting off his tongue from all the pain. He wanted it all to stop. The pain was excruciating. And intense. And unbearable. God, someone make it stop.

When it became too much, he could feel an agonizing pain in his chest. And as if heard by some greater power it all stopped. His eyes rolled back and all he could see was darkness.

* * *

(Jeremy's Pov) 

Jeremy was the first to react when Michael suddenly collapsed and began to scream from the top of his lungs.

He was shocked violently the moment he placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder. They could only watch as Michael was screaming bloody murder.

When the screaming abruptly stopped, Jeremy was immediately at his side hesitantly placing a hand on the boy’s shoulders once again. He wasn’t electrocuted as strongly as before but he still flinched from the mild static shock. It wasn’t enough for him to let go and he began to attempt to shake Michael back into consciousness. When he failed to respond, Jeremy placed two fingers on the inside of Michael’s wrist. His eyes widened.

“Someone call 911 right now.” He shrieked.

“What is it?!? Is he okay?” Jenna asked.

Jeremy looked up at them helplessly. Tears began to form in his eyes.

“I can’t feel a pulse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone ought to spray that striped shirt wearing boy with a spray bottle. 
> 
> (Edited): MICHAEL IS NOT DEAD. well… No, I am NOT killing him off. He IS NOT dead. I think some y'all were freaking out, by the way, I initially worded this note (which in itself was pretty entertaining, heh heh, but not intentional, so sorry if y'all got worried) and I just want to clarify that. He is the main character so yeah. And I still have many a plans for him. Death would be too kind. :) 
> 
> If you are wondering about my update schedule, writing chapters can take me from three days to three weeks. So if you’re asking when I‘m going to update….¯\\_(ツ)_/¯...will always be my answer now. 
> 
> And uh hey I have a tumblr so if y'all wanna hit me up and talk about musicals or fanfiction or whatever I'm or741 (I'm planning a deh/bmc crossover focusing on our favorite sad boys Michael and Connor (no, I'm not shipping the two of them) and feedback on certain ideas would be helpful.)
> 
> Thank you all for kudos, bookmarks and comments and of course being your lovely selves. :3


	9. Squip Profiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Profiles of Squipped Individuals  
> Data Last Updated: 11.30.2016 21:45 EST PM  
> (Opening Night of A Midsummer Nightmare)  
> O_R  
> A look into the Squip’s perspective and how they were able to manipulate people within Jeremy’s life to their own advantage in achieving Jeremy’s goals (up until they were deactivated that is).

Host Name: Jeremiah Heere

Subject Name: JH02_NJ

Gender: Male

Quirks: Stammers excessively

Interests: Playing video games, Marvel Superheroes, retro skates, Watching Porn, Dolphins, Theatre

Age: 16

People Of Interest: Christian Canigula, Paul Heere, M̵͔̥̀i̷̙̍ĉ̴̏͜͜ĥ̴̳̒ȃ̸̡̼̚ĕ̴͔̼l̴͈͆̎ ̷̖͋M̷̫̈̿e̵̢̳̊̍l̵̻̀͝ͅl̴̥̉͝

Assignments:

    * Climb Social Hierarchy within Middleborough High School(90% Success Rate)
      * Gain Experience with the Opposite Sex
        * Brooke Lohst (See Profile for more information)
        * Chloe Valentine (See Profile for more information)
      * Become physically more appealing
        * Redesign Fashion Style
    * Establish Bonds with Peers of Same Age (85% Success Rate)
      * Richard Goranski
        * Status: _Completed_
    * Overcome Insecurities (8% Success Rate)
      * Attempts to do so have Backfired
      * Status: Trials show negligible improvement
        * Must be re-evaluated
    * Transform Source of Genetic Material into a more appropriate Patriarchal figure (80% Success Rate)
      * Prompting Jeremy Heere to reveal my existence will most likely cause Paul Heere to intervene in the play or seek help (89% Success Rate)
      * Obtain Trousers
        * Status: Completion In Progress (96% Success Rate)
      * Become more Involved with Host’s activities (70% Success Rate)
        * Status: Completion In Progress (65% Success Rate
    * Become the designated "Hero" of Middleborough High School (95% Sucess Rate)
    * Become Christine Canigula’s boyfriend (72% Success Rate)
      * Demonstrate Prowess in Play Rehearsal
        * Status: _Completed_
      * Eliminate Jake Dillinger as potential romantic partner
        * Status: _Completed_
        * Date of Completion: 10/30/2016
    * ~~Maintain relationship with M̵͔̥̀i̷̙̍ĉ̴̏͜͜ĥ̴̳̒ȃ̸̡̼̚ĕ̴͔̼l̴͈͆̎ ̷̖͋M̷̫̈̿e̵̢̳̊̍l̵̻̀͝ͅl̴̥̉͝ (9% Sucess Rate)~~


        * ~~Status: Unknown~~



 

Name: Richard Goranski

Subject Name: RG01_NJ

Gender: Male

Quirks: Inconsistent Lisp

Interests: Kermit Memes, Xbox games, Muscle Shirts, Exercising, Hiking, Camping

Age: 16

Additional Information:

  * Syncing with Richard Goranski has been successful with no additional conflicts
  * Information about Squips were relayed to Jeremy Heere through this Richard Goranski
  * Obtained a Squip in order to “Be More Chill”
    * Achieved goals of becoming popular amongst peers
    * Unable to handle the mental burden of Squip (Reported to HQ for further analysis)
      * Possible side effects of being under the influence of a Squip for over a year
        * Impulsive Behavior
          * Destruction of Jake Dillinger’s household
            * Elimination may be instigated if Richard Goranski proves to be detrimental to Jeremiah Heere or other clients
              * Further Observations Required
        * Possible Suicidal Tendencies
          * Further Observations Required
  * Family Relations
    * Alexander Goranski
      * Patriarchal Figure
      * Alcoholic
    * Status of Marital Figure: Unknown
    * Gerard Goranski
      * Elder Brother
      * Enrolled in New York Film Academy
  * Current Status: Enrolled to Intensive Care Unit in Beth Israel Hospital



Conclusion:

Further observation is needed to determine if Richard Goranski will prove to be a detriment to the commercialization of Squips and other hosts. Findings indicate that after prolonged usage, a host may begin to exhibit neurotic behavior, although the effects of alcohol and other narcotics may have influenced such actions. 

 

Name: Jenna Rolan

Subject Name: JR03_NJ

Gender: Female

Quirks: Gossips for attention

Interests: Smartphone, Rumors, Socialization, The Princess Bride, Stephen King Movies

Age:16

Additional Information:

  * Syncing with Jenna Rolan has been successful with no additional conflicts
  * Typically seen with a Smartphone in hand
  * Chooses to trail after Brooke Lohst and Chloe Valentine in order to obtain semblance of popularity
  * Family Relations
    * Shawn Rolan
      * Patriarchal Figure
      * Police Lieutenant of Middleborough Township
    * Barbara Rolan
      * Matriarchal Figure
      * Field Reporter 
    * Will Rolan 
      * Younger brother
      * Enrolled in Amsterdam Elementary School
  * Current Status: Assignments Pending



Conclusion:

Jenna Rolan's longing for others to become more invested in her life and connection to the cast of A Midsummer's Nightmare has made her a prime candidate to manipulate in order to complete the assignments set by Jeremy Heere. Her compliance in lacing Puck's Pansy Serum has proven to be critical in fabricating the perfect scenario in which Jeremy Heere would become the established savior of Middleborough High School. 

 

Name: Brooke Lohst

Subject Name: BL05_NJ

Gender: Female

Quirks: In need of constant validation

Interests: Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt, Shopping, Dogs, Karaoke

Age: 16

Additional Information:

  * Syncing with Brooke Lohst has been successful with no additional conflicts
  * Dubbed Second Most Popular Girl in Middleborough High School
    * Displays attachment towards Chloe Valentine
  * Obsessed with Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt
  * Recently broke up with unnamed boyfriend
    * Easily Exploited and used to Jeremy Heere's favor
      * Empathy Achieved
  * Displays Various Insecurities
    * Always request for Validation of actions
      * Backs down from Criticism by Peers
  * Family Relations
    * Marcus Lohst
      * Patriarchal Figure
      * Medical Director at Morristown Medical Center
    * Katie Lohst
      * Matriarchal Figure
      * Child Physiatrist
    * Christopher Lohst
      * Elder Brother
      * Enrolled in California Polytechnic Institute
    * Lauren Lohst
      * Younger Sister
      * Enrolled in Middleborough Middle School
  * Displays Attraction towards Chloe Valentine
  * Current Status: Assignments Pending



Conclusion

Brooke Lohst cut relations with her previous boyfriend after he cheated on her. She displayed apprehensive behavior and typically seeks for instant gratification towards her actions making her an easy candidate to manipulate. Misleading Brooke Lohst with lies of having faced a similar situation has provoked her in feeling sympathetic towards Jeremy Heere. Becoming her short-term boyfriend would prove advantageous in order to climb the social ladder within Middleborough High School. Close relations with Chloe Valentine also proved useful in Christine Canigula breaking up with a Jake Dilinger (reference Chloe Valentine’s profile for more information).

 

Name: Chloe Valentine

Subject Name: CV04_NJ

Gender: Female

Quirks: Bouts of intense jealousy, Possessiveness 

Interests: Gay People, Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt, Shopping, Cats, Painting

Age:17

Additional Information:

  * Syncing with Chloe Valentine has been successful with no additional conflicts
  * Dubbed Most Popular Girl in Middleborough High School


  * Displays Attachment towards Jake Dillinger
    * Easily Exploited
      * Following events of 10/31/16 subject Chloe Valentine advanced on Jeremy Heere
        * Jealousy instigated Jake Dillinger to revive relationship with Chloe Valentine
          * Prompted Christine Canigula in breaking relations with Jake Dillinger
          * Successfully eliminating Jake Dillinger as a potential romantic partner to Christine Canigula
  * Displays Attraction towards Brooke Lohst


  * Family Relations:
    * Arthur Valentine
      * Patriarchal Figure
      * Ceo of Valentine Pharmaceutical Industry
    * Chelsea Valentine
      * Matriarchal Figure
      * Fashion Designer
    * Caitlin Valentine
      * Eldest Twin to Lisa Valentine
    * Lisa Valentine
      * Younger Twin to Caitlin Valentine


  * Current Status: Assignments Pending



Conclusion

Chloe Valentine displayed a mutual attachment towards Jake Dilinger and her jealousy towards her companion Brooke Lohst prompted her in advancing on Jeremy Heere 10/30/16. Her actions that night were able to instigate Jake Dilinger's own jealousy resulting in his breaking ties with Christine Canigula. 

 

Name: Jake Dillinger

Subject Name: JD06_NJ

Gender: Male

Quirks: Failure to pronounce specific words correctly

Interests: Frisbee Golf, Sbarro, Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Track, Billards

Age:17

Additional Information:

  * Syncing with Jake Dilinger has been successful with no additional conflicts
  * Despite physical prowess, Jake Dilinger still appears to have difficulty in pronouncing words of the English language correctly 
    * Ex.Extracurricular, Peach Schnapps
  * Previously displayed attraction towards Christine Canigula
  * Displayed attachment towards Chloe Valentine 


  * Family Relations:
    * Colin Dillinger
      * Patriarchal Figure
      * Current Status:  _Unknown_
    * Katherine Dillinger
      * Matriarchal Figure
      * Current Status:  _Uknown_
    * Robert Dillinger
      * Younger Brother  
      * Enrolled in Middleborough Intermediate School
    * Matt Dillinger
      * Youngest Brother
      * Enrolled in Middleborough Intermediate School
  * Jake Dilinger and his younger brothers are currently taking residence at their Uncle's household
  * Current Status: Assignments Pending



Conclusion

Insufficient Data in order to complete conclusion. At face value, assignments tasked by Jeremy Heere were impeded by Jake Dilinger although was easily rectified following the events of the Halloween Party.

 

Name: Christine Canigula

Subject Name: CC07_NJ

Gender: Female

Quirks: Quoting lyrics from musicals whenever applicable

Interests: Play rehearsal, Acting, Singing, Scarves, Classical Movies, Musicals, Theatre

Age:16

Additional Information:

  * Jeremy Heere displays attraction towards Christine Canigula 
  * Syncing with Christine Canigula has been successful although presents several conflicts 
    * Displays attraction towards Jeremy Heere although chooses not to act upon them 
      * Possibly prefers to have a platonic relationship 
  * Currently undergoing self-evaluation


  * Displays behaviors most commonly active in ADHD hosts
    * Further Observation required in order to create full diagnostic


  * Outwardly friendly toward all her peers although can be blunt whenever it concerns topics she is passionate about
  * Admire's Lin Manuel Miranda, Joe Iconis/Joe Tracz, Benj Pasek, Kevin Murphy/Laurence O'Keefe, etc...


  * Family Relations:
    * Matthew Canigula
      * Patriarchal Figure
      * Music Director
    * Stephanie Canigula
      * Matriarchal Figure
      * Broadway Producer
  * c **u** rrEN **t**  StA **tU** S:...



 

**_E̸r̵r̴o̴r̶ ̷E̴r̴r̷or̵̨͌_ **

**M̸̜̩̝͚̤̳̹̠̫̾͆̌͑͊̃͆͝͝ö̴̪́͊̈́̓͝ú̸̢͚͈̺̭̲̮̠͚̘̜̜͙̦͌̈́̚n̴̢̳̰̾͗̆͘t̵̢̯̹̘̲͍̃̎̑́̀̊͝a̷̡̨͓̫̞͎͚͍̹̗͋̊̌̆̍̏͋̀͗̃̑͘̚͝į̸̨̭̮͕̗͎̋͊͑̔̈̔͛̑̓̚n̴̢̧̨͈̼͔̹͖͕͕̎̕͜ ̷̢͍̤̬̝̰͚̯͇̓̓̎̒̄̍͛͠͝ͅD̷͍̜̥̪͎̪͕̔̑̉͑͆̔̓̈́́̾̕͝͠e̵̟̿͆̋͆̐͛̈́͘͠ẃ̵̢͙͉̭̪̳̣́ ̸͉͍͍͔̪͈͈̗͉̩̬́͋̾́̾̎͜͜R̵̛̟̳͉̹͕̤̟̙͎̽̋̂̇́̊̓̿͠e̷̪̘͕̟̲̫̘̼͠d̶̨̻̹͓̠͑̓͝ ̷̢̧͎̙̞̰͇̞̰͈͈̚͜D̶̖̹͕̞͓̞̱̭̞̙̜͈̩̓͊͐́̊̈́̾̏͋̍̿̓͋͌ͅȩ̶͕̘̻͍͚͉̪̳̦͎̩̼̉̑̑͝ẗ̴͈̪̝̫̘͔͙̹́̐̽̔̈́͝ͅe̶̛̮̠͑̌̋̐̓͑́͗̚̚͘̚͝ĉ̷̩̤̎̚ͅt̶̥͇͙̟͚͊e̴̝̤̜͕͚̾͒̈́́͜͝d̶̼͓̜̱̺̠̪̭̜̪̈͌̏ ̷̘̦̤̒̊̾̈͋̾̓͂**

 

̶A̴u̸t̸om̷a̵ti̶c̴ ̷S̶h̴u̵td̴o̴w̷̓n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̷P̴r̶o̷g̴r̸e̷s̸s̸.̷̕.̶

3̴̞̈́

̴͚͘2

 ̶͕̈1̵

…

…

...

_G̴̍o̷̽ô̷d̷̈́b̶̈y̷̓ė̷͎_


	10. And It All Spirals Down From Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A storms a brew'n

After a brief moment of shock, everyone sprung into action.

 

**_A person is not legally declared dead until there are no brain waves detected._ **

 

Rich immediately dropped next to Jeremy rechecking Michael’s vitals before calling Jake and Brooke over.

 

**_The human brain can survive for up to about six minutes after the heart stops._ **

 

The two immediately crouched by Michael’s side opposite to Rich and began to perform CPR (the two will probably thank their health class instructor for that later).

 

**_If CPR administered within six minutes of cardiac arrest, the brain may survive the lack of oxygen._ **

 

Jake did the chest compressions while Brooke tilted Michael’s head up ready to do the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when needed.

 

**_There are in fact cases where victims are able to survive up to half an hour if CPR is performed properly._**

 

Chloe was off to see if her family still had AED they kept around while their grandmother was living with them and Jenna was on the phone announcing that an ambulance was on the way before returning to answer the question of the emergency operator on the other end. Jeremy was only able to sit mortified by Michael’s side before Christine pulled him up and guided him outside to wait for the ambulance with Jenna.

Once outside, Jeremy sat on the steps of the porch as Christine  Jenna got off the phone and headed straight for Jeremy.

“They said they’ll be here in five minutes. God, I hope you’re happy Jeremy.”

“Jenna, stop it.”Christine intervened.

“Save it. Now is not a time to coddle him. Michael-”

“Goddammit, Jenna just shut up.”She screamed in a nature that caught the attention of the other two. Looking up, Jeremy could see tears going down her face. “Michael is going to be fine,”she sobbed, “He’s going to be just fine,” she sniffed and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve trying to compose herself, “And when he wakes up, you Mister” she pointed at Jeremy,”better go down on your hands and knees and apologize.”

“Christine...” Jenna took a step forward.

“He’s going to be fine Jenna.” her voice cracked.

Jenna pulled her into a hug.

“Just fine..”She broke into sobs.

Jeremy looked at the two before placing his face in his hands as everything became a blur afterward. He could vaguely recall Rich coming outside saying that they were able to get Michael’s heart to start beating again and the sound of sirens subsequently. He could vaguely recall as the paramedics came out with Michael on a gurney and when his dad showed up and drove him to the hospital. He could vaguely recall asking the woman at the reception table if his friend was still alive and her unsympathetic ‘yes’ before she returned to typing on her computer. What he did recall was the fist flying towards his face and crumpling backward to the ground.

“Rich!” Jake got in between the two.

“He had it coming.”

“This isn’t helping Michael.”

“Yeah well, he’s the reason Michael’s here in the first place. Michael nearly died.”

Blood was rushing down Jeremy’s nose as his dad was instantly at his side. A nurse came up and assessed it confirming that it was only dislocated. He was taken into a separate room to get the bleeding to the stop.

A doctor came into the room shortly after asking if his dad would be able to get in touch with Michael’s parents causing him to hastily ask if his friend was alright.

In most cases he would have said that he would only be able to disclose such information to relatives of the patient but taking one look at the desperate teen’s face made him concede,“He should be fine but we have to run several tests order to assess if he suffered from repercussions as a result of undergoing cardiac arrest which is why we need to get in contact with his parents for permission.”

“I should be able to get in touch with them.” Mr.Heere followed the doctor outside leaving Jeremy to his own thoughts.

* * *

Just outside Mr.Heere handed his phone to the doctor when he was finally able to get Mr. and Mrs.Mell on the line. The remaining high school students swarmed him to ask if the doctor had told him anything about Michael's condition. 

"He told me that Michael is going to be okay. They just need to run some tests to see if we should be worried about anything else,"

A breath of relief was mutually released by the teens. Just then a nurse came up to them asking for Mr.Heere. 

He stepped forward before responding "Yes? What is it?"

"Your son's nose should be fine considering that the bleeding has stopped but we want to keep him overnight just in case."

"Alright. Do I have to sign anything?"

"No, a verbal confirmation is enough." he turned to the remaining teens, "As for the rest of you, visiting hours are about to end very soon so please vacate from the area as soon as possible."

Before anyone could protest, the nurse continued, "You should be able to visit your friend in the morning so please go home and get some rest," the nurse promptly left the scene.

Hesitantly, the teens agreed before walking to the parking lot together. Mr.Heere was prompted to answer a couple other questions before he was able to go home. 

* * *

Later in the night, two figures with medical lab coats entered the room of the unsuspecting high schooler. A soft glow illuminated through the window as most of the occupants of the hospital were asleep. One of the figures stopped at the foot of the bed silently observing the unconscious boy in front of while the other took a step towards the various machines that indicated the patient’s condition.

“The scarred tissue on his back indicates that he was heavily electrocuted before he suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest,” the figure at the foot of the bed stated in a hushed tone picking up the clipboard that was left on the nearby table with the patient’s information.

“But?” the other figure goaded.  

“Witnesses from the event stated that they all heard him screaming in agony yet there is very minimal damage that was found as a result. For burns as extreme as his, this had to have been an intense case of electrocution meaning…” the figure looked down towards the files on the clipboard,”...Michael...Mell...should have suffered far more trauma in various organs throughout his body....The readings indicate that he shouldn’t even be alive right now...wait...” a confused look appeared on their face.  

“What is it?”

“The blood test results...There was an unknown agent found in his bloodstream…”

“Drugs?”

“No, we would have been able to identify it if that were the case,” they paused before their eyes widened, “and an interference was detected during the echocardiogram while we were trying to see if there was any residual heart damage...It’s...it has to be a Squip.”

The other figure briskly walked to the first before swiping the clipboard out of their hands and began to look at the file themself. A tense silence blanketed the two before the first figure spoke once more.

“I thought all the squips from this area were recalled after the incident in November nearly exposed the entire operation.”

“They were,” The other figure confirmed.

“So how do you explain the tests results? We were barely able to convince everyone that it was ecstasy that was the cause of the meltdown of those theatre kids last year. Vizzini will have our asses if another incident like that happens again.”

“I _know.”_ They flipped to the next page of the document, _“_ Hold on. _.._ The signatures coming from this Squip are strangely similar to one of the cases from that incident.”

“What?”

“Every Squip has a unique encryption but the tests indicated that the Squip Michael Mell is in current possession of is identical to the one distributed to Jeremy Heere.”

“H-how is that even possible?”

“I‘m not completely certain but Squips _are_ in their experimental phase.” They readjusted their glasses before continuing,”Why do you think we’re testing them on High School students?”

“Jesus Christ.”

“I thought you’d be more intrigued by this.”

“Do you think that was the cause of the scarred tissue?”

“Most definitely.”

“God, poor kid. He must be facing a tremendous amount of psychological strain.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time this happened.”

“I can’t believe you right now.”

“Getting cold feet? We both know that it’s a bit too late for that.”

“That doesn’t make it any better. I signed up because I thought Squips could _help_ people. All it’s been doing is ruining their lives.”

“And they will.”

“How could you say that? Look right in front of you! How do you define _this_ as helping?”They shrieked.

“Calm down,” The other placated,”Remember where we are.”

The first let out an exasperated breath but listened nonetheless.

“Good. Now what I meant was that no matter the circumstances if Michael Mell truly is in possession of Jeremy Heere’s Squip then there should be nothing for us to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“As far as we know, there are no other active Squips left other than the one residing in Michael Mell so there can’t possibly be a repeat of the incident that happened in November.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I‘m saying that we should see what happens.”

“You want to leave him like this?”

“Sure, why not? If the kid goes off the deep end, then that’s just another teen enrolled to a mental ward. Another one of those statistics. And if he doesn’t, then he’s got himself one of the most powerful pieces of technology right in his head. Vizzini doesn’t have to know a thing.”

“This still isn’t right.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think is right. Get over yourself, we’ve crossed too many lines to stop now.” The figure headed towards the door placing the clipboard back down on the table, “C’mon. We’ve got work to do,” with that the figure disappeared into the hallway.

The first figure took one last look at the sleeping highschooler before quickly following after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’re probably not going to appear again in the story. A sequel. Perhaps. But even if that would happen, it would probably come much much later. This story is far from finished after all. I'll be honest. I didn't think this story was going to go past ten chapters yet heere I am (it's not out of my system nor do I think it will ever be)... thinking about a possible sequel... again I'd have to see this story through before I even begin to start one. And there are other stories that I want to start. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
> 
> Also, if you're a junior or whatever being taught cpr pls pay attention in class. You could save a Michael's life. 
> 
> (Edit 10/07/17): Okay, so I made a couple edits to the test that the doctors do on Michael that does not in any way change the plot of the story but I mean, I want to make events of the story as accurate as possible, i.e, doctors don't perform mri scans on patients who suffered from sudden cardiac arrest. And yeah probably none of you would really care or would know if I got that one fact wrong but I know and care about the authenticity of my writing so to the one person who be all like "yeah that's entirely something doctors would do" don't worry, I got your back. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO OR wherein the author once again has too many voices in their head that make them go back and do edits on chapters cause their super indecisive, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL OR wherein the author does actual research on chapters for the sake of their sanity and correctness (all on a device funded by their school so if they're wondering why on earth someone is researching about the effects of electrocution on the human body this is the reason). 
> 
> Thanks for all the comments, bookmarks, and kudos. And of course, being all your lovely selves. :3


	11. Reboot in Progress

**Ŵ̴̯̻͓̊̎̉̿̿̕a̵͓̋̎R̴̫̼͝ͅŅ̶̡̖̯̹͐͌̒͠i̷̢͇̮̪͔͚̊n̴̛̮̫̥̳̻̱̋͘G̸̮̃ ̵̛͚͑͜w̸͈̲̓͑̈A̴̤͈͖̐͆͛͜ȑ̶̦̜͉̲̙̣̍N̸̛̦̝͚̓̃̓͛̎Ï̸̱͕̠̙͍̯̭̐n̷̩̯̹͈̾͋G̴͖̾̈́̽̏ͅ ̴̢͙̭̇̈́͑͠**  
**̵̞̣̬̩͖̭̒̈́̕**

 

 **̷̻̘͙͈͍̐́̀͆̓̈́**  
**̵̧̗͍̝͉̏̇̓͜C̸̨̨̦̩͉̪͖̒̾̂̎̕̕Â̵̳̈́̈́͘͠l̶̬̮̭̄̽i̶̖̤̜̜͉͚̓̓́̆̽͜.̴͎͔͖̘͔̭͂.̸̧͕̝̉̉͌̒.̴̻̱̳̰̏͑̒c̵̛̗̠̙̹̮͕͆̚â̶̢̱͓̹͈̣͘I̶̧̩̠̎͋̕͝L̵̤̺͍̮̱̺͎̍̊̆̂̽B̴̢͖̑r̶̨̫͙̈A̵̧͕̙̓̊͊̕T̶̨̨͓͖̼͓̼̊̉̅̓̔͝ḭ̶̫̈̌̽͐̕o̸͉̟̼̓̐̔̓́̌N̸̠̲̰̞̤̑͝ ̸̛̥̭̜͉̝̏̎̇̈̐̂ͅi̶̛͈̭͇̠̣̐̈́̾͜N̴͖̞̭͎̬͚̈͋͋̽̓͛͛ ̵̧̛̥̫̬̳̜̮́̔p̸͕̫̍̎̚Ŗ̶̻̬̀́͑̾͝Ǫ̶̨̦̤̱̫͈̿̋̋g̶̡̧͖̠̘̱̳̩͔͉̤̗̋̀͌̈̿̂͂̿̾̌̓̏͒͗̈͜Ŗ̷̞̰͈̫͇̰̫̪̌̈́e̸͎̰̝̰̰̊s̵̢̪̐̄̅͠͝ş̵͖̳̩̜̪̈.̵͓̺̺͖̻̮̌̌͒.̵̺̉̈̊̔̚.̸̲̬̦̗̤̱̂̈͂̇͘g̶̡̧͖̠̘̱̳̩͔͉̤̗̋̀͌̈̿̂͂̿̾̌̓̏͒͗̈͜Ŗ̷̞̰͈̫͇̰̫̪̌̈́E̴̢̽̚s̷̮̞̪͉͛̊̉͊̚͘S̷̨̥̍͌́͝͠ ̷͍͂͘͘**  
  
**̴̲̱̗̲̾̾͛**

  
**̵̛̛̖͋̈́̔̂.̵̢̭̜̙̜̯̌̄̓̍̑̅̋.̴̢̡̠͚͍̬̟̕.̴̹͠.̵̪̝͕̺̝̮̜̓̈́͗̿̈̚C̷̹̖̜͇͈͊͌͆͠͝ͅ.̷͕̩̱͇̾̇.̸̛̦̤̬̘͖̙͛̈͌̍̚͝.̸̡̖̲̝̣̤̀͆̔̚͝ć̸̛̛̲̪̘̱̖͕̈́͊͝.̷̨̛̞͈̘̰̻̑̊̕͝.̷̢͔͕̥̿̑̏̑̿C̵̛̟̳̠̹͉̤̦͒͋͂͑Ơ̴̭̐̄̏̑̽M̸̼̤̈́͒͛̒̄͠p̸̻̠͇͚̖͋͊͑̇̾͘͘l̷̟͛ͅe̴͍̓Ṯ̷̜̘̮̒͌̈́̂̚E̶̡̨̤̳͇̓͜͝.̶̡̹̜̺͇̾̅̋́͜.̵̡̳̲̽.̵̡̦̜͐͑͑̋̅͝.̷̨̱̣̭̘̘͌**  
**̴̦̗̱̳̤̇͌͌**  
**̴̼͍͖̹̻͈̫͊̌̑́̀**  
  
**̴̨̥̣̹̠̀̓͐͘͜**

  
**̷̡̬̰̫̗̜̎̅ͅR̸͍͉̣̻̣͕͋̑͐̍͊͜Ȩ̵̖̘̠̪̠̳͐b̵̟̩͎̹̽͊̑͝͝ǫ̶̟̮̽O̶̧͍̮̒t̸͖͑̆̊̈́̔̚í̴̙̞̭̐ͅN̷̦̭̫̳̻̫͊̈̈́͂̕͝͠G̴̢̢̬̰͕͗̽̈́̉:̴̖̗͓͇̝͒̆̅̆͂̕ ̴͎͕͕̌͂̏͠ñ̴͔̟̖͙̝͑̐̾͊̿Ĕ̷͙͉̾̄Ȗ̵̞̙̫̔͊͝r̸̡̙̖̾͂͑̇͒͒Ą̷̘͚̜̰͒̈͆̀l̴̗̪̳̂̐̌͘ ̸̧̗̿͒͐̓̋̐͆M̴̬̖͎̦̠̱͒͊̑̏̇͂Ẹ̴̻͉͓͈̙͛̌͋m̷̹̙̘̲̓̒̽͛̊͝O̶̲̤̠̠̼̦̟̓̈́̐r̷̗͖̲̙̬̀͌̅͗̏͘ͅŶ̴͓̤̘̂**

  
**̵͇̮̭̞̤̰͙͌̆̏**  
**̷̡̝̙̇̊̃̓̈́̍͆E̴̡̟̜̲̱̽͗̑̂̃̀͜͝r̸̡̪̻͖̗͐̽͝ͅR̷͔̦͊ó̵̹͖̣͍̫͈̌͊̊͒̒͜r̵̙͙̾̚ ̵̧̩͕̟͍̭̽̎̀͌̊͌D̴̨̠̤̺̤̻̲͊̇e̵̼͈͂̊́̉T̶̘͇̟̜̤̿Ê̸̛͖̹͆̚̚c̷̨̀̃̎t̷̤͉̮͕̂̈Ȩ̵̈́̈́̌D̴̦̞͔̀̓͊̽͘̚͝**  
**̴͇̉̇̑͛͝͝**

  
**̶̮̽͑̑**  
**̴̭́Ṙ̷̲̮͑̌ͅe̵̘͍̝̙̘͂̀̒͋̑͒͝ͅC̷͈̻̪̳̠̲̊̃ǎ̸̺̹͉̄̓͘l̷̛̞̜̥͇̊͝İ̵̼̹̻͍͆̋ͅB̷̡̡̲̪̀̈́̊̕ͅṟ̴̦̫̝̠̖̫̓̀̋̄̌͑͠ă̶̢̳̦̟̩͓̏͒̔͒̿͝T̶̬̗̠̳̬̲̈́̈́͌̓Ḯ̴͓̮o̴̧̲̺͇̾̒̽̿n̷̨͖͐̍̿ ̷͈̘̠͙͗͒ͅỊ̸̛͛͒̕n̷̛̛̠̯̰̻̭̑̐̉͘͝ ̶̳̙̺̃̄̾̇̅̊͊P̷͎̲͚̂̄̈́̎̾́ŗ̵̫͚͇̜͍̘̐o̶͔̬̙̓͂̆͘͝G̴̥̳͎̉̆̆͛͗͂̊ͅr̸̨̭̗͇̓ę̷͋S̵̢͚̼̱͒̉̌̍̚S̶͔̲̻͓̭̪̔̈́́͜**  
**̷̬͎̮̱̲̰̞̚**  
**̴̨̡̧͖͙̑́͝**

  
**̶̰̰̳̗͈̫̥͗̓͌͂͝E̴̛̙͓̬̮̿́̇ͅŗ̵̎̔Ȑ̸̲̗ȍ̵̺̰̰̯̥͚̮ȑ̵͔̦̠̩̓ ̵̧̻̳͕̠̣͆͝ḑ̶͔͇͉̺̆̈́̄̂͂̈́̍ͅÈ̸̮̜̓T̴̛͚̋̑̇̆͗e̴͓͓̥͑͂͂̌̿ç̷̯͍̥̜͉͒̎ͅt̵̨̡̨̟̬̮͙̆̑̆̉̈Ë̵̠́D̵̹̩̬͕̘̗̀̂͊́́̏̊͜**

  
**̶̧̪̘̫̹̐͋̓̉̒ͅ**  
**̵͙̟̈̊S̶͍̟̣͐͊̔̅͗͛͛y̷̙̌̊͛͐́̃͘͜S̷̢̝̥̓̑̉͜͜T̵̡̯̤̜̟͍͎͛̊͋̕͝͝è̸̡̯͕̪̯̩̂̆̆̇͊͆ͅm̴͎͕͌̈́ ̴̘̩̔̀̑̍̅̎͝U̷̢̟̳̬̙͘͜N̶̬͈̅a̴͉͝b̸̢̳̬̦̼̅̏Ļ̵̯̾͝Ȇ̵̡͚̺͈̂͝ ̵͙͍̻͉̔̀T̵̢̬̣̻̘̗̝̋͂̆ŏ̵̢͈̬̜̥͓̊̍̎ ̶̲̇̽͐̇̐͠͝R̶͔̮͜͠e̴͓͈̦͙̹̋A̶̧͇̤̪̻͊́̄̒̅̐͘c̸̝̊͂̀́̓H̴̢̼̹̗̻͉̥̆̈͗͆̊̊̊ ̵̹̣͇͙͋͊͜Ç̸̺̣̠̱͕̆̂ơ̸̱M̵͚͇̱̩̩̙͔̐̑̎P̴̨̛̻̜̺̭̕l̶̨̬͚̃̃ͅe̷̟̟͊̂̌t̷̛͈͈͎̜̦͊̔̀͑̊ȋ̷̤̼͔̈̂͆ȯ̷̩̣̲͐̚n̸̗̘̱͐̐̓̔̚**

  
**̵͖̦̝͈͓͙̰̄̂͋́͋͠**  
**̶̖̠͈̹͌͒̕.̴̖̱͎͓̓̂͝͝͝.̸̢̧͍̩͍̭̅̔̾͐.̶͇͔̳̔.̴͍̪̘̈́̇Â̶͖̾̽̆Ȕ̷̬͇͍̩̍͗t̷̹̟̣̤̟͉̩͠ǒ̵͉̙͑M̵̢̜̦̬̙̗͇͒̔̍͑̚å̷̮̬̠̈́͊͋͗T̸̡̗̲̱͖͒̓̈̆͜͠i̵̻̙͇̜̎̈́̔͝c̸̞̰͙̪̈́̄̈̌̔͠ ̸̢̼͖̞͇͔̄ͅB̴̢̲̝̜̻̅̆͜ạ̵͚̣̪́c̵̻̪̖̘͚͉͝K̴̛͓̬͔̯͓̈͆̈̚ ̸̹̈Ư̶̰̾̐͠͠p̵̼̩̲̪͔͓̈́̑͛̓ ̴̨̛͆̊P̷͕̼̰̞̣̏̓̾̓̈́̉͐r̶̨̹͆͊̓̉̽͝Õ̸͔̱̳̩̒̕͜Ĉ̸̛̲̻̼̺̂͜e̸̻͋͋̎͌͐̍͘D̴̗͔̪͈̼̙͇̑͊ǘ̶͈̭͋͐̊͒̽ṙ̸̮͔͈̱͎͉̐̀̂̐̎e̶̮͚͎̅͗̾ ̸͚̗̲͕̿͐̄͜͠I̶̘̫̽͊̒̓̈́͋n̸̊̎͒͋̋͜I̶̜̣͈̽̂T̸̰̙̭͘ị̵̢̛̘̟̥͑̾̅̽̂â̶̩̲͍̻͕͆̉T̵̖̦̲͔̦̝̓͛e̵̼͋d̸̩̣͕͆͂͝͝͝.̴̻͔̦̍͂̿̐͗.̷̡̨̻̗̓͛͛.̷̢̗̥͛̂̊.̸̧̗̺̝͕͂̓͋͜**  
**̷͙̊͂̈́͗**

  
**̴̹̦̥̥̤͊ͅ**  
**̷̲̌͒͝͠W̵̢̘̾̒ȃ̸͎͇͚̇͠R̵̬̬͇̪̞͎͗͋̂̀̓́̅ͅN̶̬̮̱̹̦̊͗̀̉̓i̸̪̫̺̿̀̌͌̓̿ň̷̗͔̃̀̃̅G̴̖̉̈́̈́̏͠ ̷̛̛͉̻͓̩̞͇̙̓̒̓͛w̸̱͚̱̹̳͑̈̈̀ͅą̸̢̛̱̜̹̪̰̄͐̂͝r̵͕̘̗̉́N̸̼̎̈Ï̶̺̼͎̤͙͍̏͛̿͋̍̕N̶̯̳͂̍̚̕ǵ̴̬̼̹͓̬̿̚͜ͅ**  
**̶͉̖͚̋̀̍**  
**̴͕̖̳͎̃̏̇͛͋̂͘**

 

 **̵̪̦̥̟͔͎̋̓̿̿͊̈̿Ş̴̩͙̇͌̆̆̐͆̄e̶̲͕̪̐̈́̈́̒͂͝v̸̧̢̡̻̬̤͚̆̓̋̌̄͘Ę̶͖͈̗̠̽͋̈͛̾̕͜Ṟ̵͔̠͗͋̊̽̏͌ą̷͚͇̭̳͌Ļ̸̰̘̜̇̔̒̽̉͠͠ ̵̥̫̙̱͕͔͇̓̔̀̅̈͘Ç̶̛̰̣̟̉͑̊͐o̸̜͆M̴̨̡̰͇̙̫̦̕P̴̜͈̲͗̏̇̄̊l̷̨̪͈͍̘̓͛ͅi̴̯̦̓ͅC̶͚̮̫͔̒̿̈́À̶̰͊̆̚t̶͖͚̽̾̌̆͂̅͆I̶͓͉͚͍̣̜͂̉̃̈̐̚O̵̦̳͎̭͐͒̽̇̚͠͝ͅn̸̖̖͔̺͇͌̔̒͋͜S̸̹̟̅ ̷̝̯͓̼̗̠̲̑̇̇͒̾͂͝d̵̮̾̂̓̕é̴͓̍̔͒̂͝T̶̨̘̞̂͋ḙ̵͙͉͇̘̰̆̈́̒C̴̹̰̻T̸̢̬̪͇̭̹͛̀͛̏͂̇ḙ̵̢̱͂̏d̵͕̮̜̪͍͇͑̈́̃̒**  
**̶̢̞̲̺̱̙͈̓̓̽̆̈́**

  
**̴͕͓̩͋͗͘ͅ**  
**̵̢̣̹̈́̿͝.̵̢̡̣͔̳̉̍̽̄.̸̼͙͈͛̓̍.̷̡̓.̸̺̄̀̇͌J̶̡̘̐.̴̪̤̀͘.̵̭̣͚͓̤̜̘̋͝.̵̠͚̺͕̗̂̿͒̀̅͆J̸̡̛̛͉͚͓̼͆̌͜ḛ̸͒̄̍͌͒.̷̦͚̌.̵̝̼̩͖̹̗́͜.̶̨͚̬͕̝̅̏̓̚͝J̶̜͂͛e̴͚̫͂̏͜R̸̖͑̓͊̚͠.̶͙̯̜̮̼̖̙̀̑̚.̵̡̠͓́̐̆̕.̸̧͍̤̬̑̄̆M̵̢͙̻͓̞̬͑͂̕ͅi̸̺̟͆̊c̷̡̛̙̼͕̤̟̭̓̽Ḩ̶̦͍̖̦̥̑̊́̋͒̌Ą̵̣̯͎̹̈́̃̌ë̴̹̳͔̣͜L̴̲̼̅̄̈̓.̵̟̰̋̉̐̐͘͝.̵̘͓̍̐͌̔̋.̶̢̳̠͌̽̂͗̚͘̕ͅ.̵̢͉͉̮̒.̴̢̯̘͒͒͝H̶̬̤̝̭̤͇͐̑̌̋ͅẹ̵̳̻̪̙̞̈͘.̶̛͚̯̎̊̌̋͝.̴̯̜̩͕̝̮̥̄͛͝.̸̹̣̂͗̌̐h̵̘̣̣̉̑̎͂̚͠͝E̸̡͙͈͍̝̱̋̀̀͛̕͝ḛ̸̹͉̓͊.̸̻̳̻̥̩̭̓̈̆͋͛͝.̸̛̟̮̮̱̭͙̃̈́̍.̷͉̗͕̘͙͐̋̅̿M̵̡̺̫̗̜̞͖̂͌͆͌̏̓e̸͔̤̯̝̻̩̓̓̈̃͒̔̋L̵̨̡͇̋͐̈͑ĺ̴̙̈̑̚.̵̭̖̼̯̳͘.̵͓̑.̸̜͔̥̖̑̔̓͘.̶̤̦̱̭̠̼̆̐**  
**̷̨͇̯͍̜̙̯̒̇**

**...**

 

**..**

**.**

 

**It's about time for you to wake up, Michael.**

Electric blue eyes snapped open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for any comments, kudos and/or bookmarks and of course, being all your lovely selves.


	12. Bittersweet Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optic Nerve Blocking:ON

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Insert the most stereotypical evil laughter here]

Christine was the first to arrive at the hospital the day after the party. She quickly found Jeremy at the receptionist’s table probably having been discharged from his own injury. Once she was behind him, she could make out the conversation he was having with the woman behind the counter.

“I‘m sorry, sir. But Michael Mell is not currently available to have any visitors right now.”

“What? Why not?” Jeremy frantically questioned.

“I am not authorized to disclose information to anyone who isn’t related to the patient.”

Christine didn’t skip a beat,”I‘m his second-cousin, ” she stated surprising Jeremy by her sudden appearance,”Did something happen to him overnight?”

The woman gave them a disbelieving look but Christine responded with enough determination in her eyes daring the woman to say something. She sighed but chose to indulge the teen in front of her anyway,” Mr.Mell suffered through various episodes of delirium earlier in the morning so his doctor’s thought it was best to place him in the extensive care unit of our hospital. He displayed hostile behavior towards his nurses and himself before falling back into unconsciousness so he was determined to be too unstable to have any visitors at the moment.”

“Is he alright?” Christine had a fearful tone in her voice.

“He was sedated and restrained so that he wouldn’t endanger anyone. And there weren’t any reports of new injuries that came as a result. I would advise that you come back later in the afternoon to check up on his condition. He may be deemed stable enough at that point if you still wish to visit him.”

“Okay, thank you very much,”Christine bit her bottom lip as she took Jeremy’s wrist in her hand and guided him away from the desk to an unoccupied hallway.

Once she let go of his arm, she stood so that she was facing Jeremy instead of being beside him. They stood there staring at each other for a couple moments. Christine as the one who finally broke the silence,“Is your nose alright?” There was a band-aid going across the bridge of Jeremy’s nose but it otherwise looked fine.

“Du-uh-umm,” he stuttered, “Y-yeah, Rich just nicked it when he punched me but the bleeding stopped a while ago.”

“Why did they have to keep you overnight then?”

“Something having to do with a blood clotting problem when I was younger. They probably just wanted to make sure that the bleeding wouldn’t restart or anything,” he brushed off easily, “Look, Christine. About last night, I honestly didn’t expect Michael to react that badly. I just... ”

Christine sighed,“Jeremy if there’s anyone you should be apologizing to it’s Michael. I‘m not mad at you...Just...disappointed.”

“I know. I just...” He took a deep breath, then proceeded to continue,”... I needed to make sure that this was something that he absolutely wanted Christine. Having a squip was one of the worst experiences of my life and if you hadn’t convinced me otherwise, I don’t know where’d I be.”Jeremy pursed his lips.

Christine shivered at the memory of her squip coasting her to accept the fact that she had feelings for Jeremy, even if it was fleeting. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a different voice.

“Excuse me, are you two acquaintances of Michael Mell?”An unfamiliar doctor walked in on their conversation.

“Yes,” Christine responded polite as ever, “I‘m sorry but who are you?”Christine stepped forward.

“My apologies. My name is Dr.Everett Hayes,” She introduced,” I‘m one of the doctors who’s currently in charge of Michael Mell. I was hoping that you two would be able to answer a couple questions about my patient’s current condition.”

“Of course, lead the way,” Christine looked towards Jeremy who nodded before Dr.Hayes began leading the both of them towards her office. The room like most of the others in the hospital had glass walls and various certificates were decorated throughout the room. Files were scattered covering every inch of her desk. After they were all situated in their own respective seats, Dr.Hayes brought Michael’s file in front of her in order to begin her questioning.

“I‘m sure the two of you were made aware of Mr.Mell’s current predicament so I need you both to answer these questions honestly and completely so that we would be able to find out what caused such a violent reaction by your friend.”

After they both nodded, Dr.Hayes continued,”Alright, let’s begin.”

* * *

"We’re returning them, Rich.”

“No. We’re not.”

“We’re trying to buy him a get well soon gift. Not a gift someone would buy their girl or boyfriend so that they would stop being angry at them.”

“Why can’t a guy buy his buddy some expensive headphones without it being viewed as a romantic gesture?”

“Because Michael already has his own that he seems pretty attached too.”

“Oh, so pins and patches are better?”

“Why not? He always buys new ones every other week. It’s simple, practical and something he actually wants.”

A quick text was sent from Christine explaining what happened to Michael so they decided to buy him a small recovery gift considering everything that happened. Jake and Rich were thus tasked with buying the gift while Brooke, Chloe, and Jenna were buying them all lunch.

“But the headphones were on sale. And they’re way better quality than the ones he has. He’s always been complaining about how his aren’t soundproof.”

“Fifty-percent off a three-hundred dollar pair of headphones doesn’t mean it’s cheap.”

“It’s still better than what you’re planning to give him.”

Jake exasperatedly sighed due to Rich’s antics. He returned to shuffling through the patches in front of him trying to distinguish the ones that Michael didn’t already have but would still like. He already picked out a couple of D.C. universe pins a few minutes prior. Rich was grinning victoriously beside him.

“You’re still mad at Jeremy, aren’t you?” Jake was staring at the multitude of patches in front of him.

The grin was wiped off Rich’s face and he looked at Jake critically, “You’re not?”

Jake continued to look down at the task in front of him.

“No, not anymore at least...And I honestly don’t think you are either.”

“What?” Rich was strangely calm although Jake could see how tense he became.

“If you were still angry at Jeremy, you wouldn’t still be here arguing about getting well presents. You’d have probably marched down to the hospital after Christine texted us about what happened.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you think I‘m not mad at Jeremy. Cause I sure as hell am.”

Jake looked at him unimpressively, “Maybe it’s because you actually blame yourself for what happened like you always do even when things aren’t in your control. Maybe you think that Jeremy was right,” Jake finally stopped shuffling through the patches having picked out a couple that he was satisfied with. Turning his head to the side in order to face Rich, he continued, “Maybe you agreed that we shouldn’t have allowed Michael to make the decision he made about keeping his squip.”

“I wouldn’t have pushed him as hard as Jeremy did.” Only confirming Jake’s accusation.

“No, you probably wouldn’t have. And you know that Jeremy probably wouldn’t have either if he knew what would happen.”

Rich only continued to look at him.

“None of us had squip longer than you or even Jeremy for that matter. I‘ve only had one in my head for an hour tops. But, I know you. The guilt I saw on your face right before you rushed towards Michael when he collapsed. There’s something else. Something that didn’t sit right with you,” Jake paused, “What aren’t you telling me?”

A beat of silence went by before Rich finally responded.

“How did you know I was hiding something?” Rich questioned.

“I didn’t,” Jake grinned at him,“But thanks for the confirmation.”

Rich looked at him unamused and brought his hand up to flip him off. Jake chuckled earning a punch to the arm prompting Rich to laugh as well before a more solemn expression came on his face.

“I‘ve had the Squip since the end of Freshman year,” Rich started, ”And I‘ve gone to a hella lot of parties and had a hella lot more booze.”

“So?”

“Well, whenever I get wasted at those parties or whenever I can snag some beer from my dad’s stash, my squip obviously glitches out, starts speaking Japanese and whatever.”

“Yeah, you explained that to everyone already.”

“Well, whatever happened to Michael never happened to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was never shocked when I got wasted. If anything, the worst thing that happened was not being able to control what I was doing,” Rich had a guilty look on his face that Jake immediately recognized as the one when he first confronted the shorter boy in front of him after he was released from the hospital, “Sorry I’m not trying to make any excuses for-”

“Hey,” Jake softly interrupted, “I know you weren’t in complete control for what happened during the party. I forgave you a long time ago. It’s basically ancient history now.”

“You shouldn’t have,”Rich stared grimly at the floor.

Jake placed both his hands on Rich’s shoulders making the latter look at the taller boy in the eye, “Look, I‘m sure there were a lot of things you did that you weren’t proud of. We’re easily all responsible for what happened to him. We could have just confronted him without the party. Maybe even try a little harder to get more answers. But it’s not like we can change any of that now. And it’s not like you can go back and change any of your actions from the past. Whatever happened, whatever pit you’ve dug yourself into, you know I‘ll still cover your back,” Jake sincerely grinned adding, ”All five feet and four inches of it.”

Rich was momentarily silenced by the uncharacteristically wise advice his friend just gave him before he processed what Jake said. His eye twitched in annoyance as he batted the other’s arm away offended,“ I‘m five-five, and you know it, Dillinger.”

Jake squinted at him and seemed to doubt his last statement earning another light punch in the arm.

He let out a hearty laugh bringing his arms up in defense,”I yield. I yield,” he hummed in amusement and then remembered the reason they were at the mall in the first place, “Right now all we need to worry about is what’s going on with Michael’s Squip. Do you think it malfunctioned or something?”

“I don’t know. It could have just been a fluke,” Rich thoughtfully reasoned.

“Well, it’s more than nothing. We should tell the others.” Jake gathered all the previously forgotten pins and patches, heading towards the register to pay for them, “And apologize to Jeremy for punching him in the face while you’re at it,” he instructed behind him.

Rich rubbed the back of his head sheepishly letting out a heavy sigh.

...

After paying for the patches and pins, Jake and Rich exited the store carrying their own respective gifts racing to see who could get to the food court first (the taller of the two obviously winning, Mr. Track-team varsity member). Meeting the girls in the food court, they sat down at a table to eat the pizza from the Sbarro that Jake loved so much. Brooke and Chloe rolled their eyes at the boy’s antics as they returned to their own conversation. Jenna was on her phone texting Christine in the group chat so no one would be out of the loop later.

“Christine said that she just got out of talking to Michael’s doctor with Jeremy. Apparently, the ‘ecstasy’ they traced in Michael’s systems didn’t react so well to the vodka he drank at the party. They’re going to keep him at the hospital for a couple days for further observation.”

“Yeesh, that’s gonna leave a mark on his record,” Jake commented.

“Yeah, how are we supposed to explain that to the police? Drugs and alcohol. What if they blame us for what happened?” Brooke said fearfully.

"It's fine. My dad has connections with the police. He'll be able to wipe Michael's record with a snap," Jenna said smoothly without missing a beat. She continued to text Christine as if it was nothing. 

"Well, that's convenient," Chloe remarked.

"Let's just say that it's not the worse thing my dad had to cover up. My mom's way worse. How do you all think we got off easy four months ago?” Jenna said smugly. A smirk gracing her features.  

Everyone just stared at her shocked. 

"...Moving on," Rich started nervously,"Can we visit Michael yet?"

"Not yet. Christine said they just took him off his sedatives from his breakdown earlier. He's still out of it," Jenna's phone vibrated indicating a new text, "If he doesn't show signs of hostility, we might be able to visit him around six."

"That's five hours from now. Does it really take that long for someone to get back to their senses?” Chloe said impatiently.

"No, but the doctors want to run some more tests on him before he gets any visitors," Jenna stated as she noticed the two bags beside Rich and Jake,"What's with the bags? I thought we were only getting him one gift?"

She unknowingly started another argument about which gift was superior to the other.

The previous conversation between the two boys was later brought up when they all met up with Christine and Jeremy at the hospital and fleeting truces were made. 

* * *

(Michael’s POV)

Awareness came back in stages.

Going in and out of consciousness, he could hear shuffling around in his room before he was sent off into oblivion. When he was returned to his sense the voices became loud enough that he could make out a couple words. 

“...his irises...entirely different color...”

”...possibility...brain damage...”

”...hit his head?”

”...could explain...earlier episode...”

”...wouldn’t explain...change color...”

Eventually, he became very aware of how obnoxiously bright the lights were in the room. His eyes fluttered open before he swiftly shut them back closed, overwhelmed by how blindingly bright it was. Once he was able to get his bearings back he cautiously opened his eyes back up allowing them to get used to the light. Everything was buzzing around him and he could make out two figures at the foot of his bed.

He attempted to bring a hand up to rub his eyes but found that he was unable to. Looking down, he could see the restraints on his wrists, torso, and ankles. He futilely attempted to struggle, a panicked gasp escaped his lips. Apparently, the sound was able to catch the attention of the doctors in front of him as their heads snapped towards his direction. Michael’s breath came out in short quick gasps as he began to struggle even more. One of the doctors immediately came to his side placing her hand on one of his shoulders trying to calm him down. 

“...restraints off..”

”...sure?”

”...only making..worse...”

More footsteps were heard entering the room. Another cry escaped from him, as the panic began to build up. Suddenly, the restraints were taken off and a voice entered his head.

“Calm down.” A disembodied voice commanded.

And just like that Michael was able to get his breathing under control. A monitor off to the side of his bed indicating that his heart rate was slowing down. The hand on his shoulder disappeared and when he looked up, he could see a doctor in front of him looking concerned. His eyes were half open but he could still make out the fact that her mouth was moving; however, all he could hear was a loud ringing in his ears. His head flopped back onto the pillow and the darkness swallowed his senses. 

The second time he woke up wasn’t as slow as the last. There weren’t any doctors in the room this time and Michael was fully able to get a hold of himself and his surroundings. Noticing that the restraints were taken off him, he experimentally sat up and proceeded to bring a hand up to his face. Everything seemed so clear to him. He could make out the most minute details of his hands despite how his glasses were placed off to right on the small table beside his bed. He hesitantly reached out to them and looked at them critically. When he placed them on, everything became blurry and his eyes began to water from the prescription lenses.

He took them back off when he caught something from the reflection of the lens. It was hard to make out but he swore that his eyes were now an intense shade of blue. Doubtful he began searching for his phone which was placed conveniently farther off on the table that his glasses were on. Unlocking the screen, he immediately headed for the camera app and was surprised to learn that his eyes had indeed turned blue. He moved his head from left to right never breaking eye contact with the screen. 

The door to his room opened snapping him out of his reverie as his eyes were drawn towards the person entering the room. The doctor seemed as surprised as him because of his appearance. 

The man with the white lab coat cleared their throat, muttering something about the youth and their attachment to electronic devices. He readjusted his glasses addressing Michael directly, “Hello, I’m Dr.Johnathan Cohn,” he formally introduced.

Michael blinked at him,”...uh...Hey?” he stated so eloquently. His voice was scratchy considering he hasn't had anything to drink since he collapsed so his throat was considerably dry. The man stepped out of the room asking a nurse if she could get him a cup of water, subsequently proceeding to walk towards Michael’s position on the bed.

"What is the last thing you recall?"

A woman entered the room handing Dr.Cohn a styrofoam cup of water whom he thanked. Once she left the room, Dr.Cohn brought the cup up to Michael who took it graciously and proceeded to gulp down the contents of in one go, savoring each drop. After he finished drinking, Michael faced the doctor and thought about his next choice of words carefully. It's not as if some random adult would believe him about a super quantum unit intel processor from Japan that could speak to him telepathically. 

"...I...I went to a party that my friend Chloe was hosting," he pretended to sound unsure and speaking slowly so that his lie would seem believable enough, "I went upstairs to use the bathroom and...uh.." A faux look of deep consideration crossed his face scrunching his brows,"I don't remember what happened next..." Michael was surprised at his ability to lie so smoothly not that he let any of his amazement show. Even the Squip would be impressed with the poker face Michael displayed.

Speaking of...

"Alright," Dr.Cohn's voice brought him back out of to the conversation at hand. Michael could worry about his Squips absence and what it could mean later. The doctor was busy recording what Michael was stating on the clipboard in from of him,"Do you not recall what happened this morning?"

Now Michael was genuinely drawing blanks,"This morning?"

"You suffered an episode of delirium in which nurses were forced to come in and restrain you before you could do any damage to yourself." He informed the teen in front of him.

"No. Sorry, nothing comes to mind."

"Most patients who face an episode as violent as yours typically don't remember so that's not of major concern. What _is_ a concern is the fact that you had one at all. Delirium is not a typical symptom of electrocution or cardiac arrest. The change of melanin production within your eyes is another occurrence that we haven't been able to account for either. Have you noticed anything different regarding your vision?"

Michael bit his bottom lip apprehensively,"Y-yeah, I can see but I mean like without my glasses. Or at least, when I tried to put them on my vision got really blurry."

He raised an eyebrow seemingly intrigued by the sudden revelation,"Are you certain that your glasses are not the wrong prescription?"

Michael nodded,"I was able to see out of them perfectly during the party."

He wrote something down before he proceeded to stand up, "I'm going to run down to the clinic so I can grab an eye chart. Don't worry about any payments. Your parents said that your insurance would cover whatever tests we need to perform."

"Tests?" Michael questioned.

"We need to understand what caused the pigment change in your irises and the delirium. These could be serious symptoms so we have to distinguish the cause of each."

"What other tests would I have to do, exactly?"

"Besides the vision test, more blood tests would be able to trace any detrimental substances in your bloodstream and further questioning would be able to facilitate in creating a diagnosis as soon as possible. Normally, patients that showed the same neurological symptoms as yours would go through an MRI scan, however, we need a parent or guardian signature and your file states that both your parents are unavailable so we are not authorized to perform one. In a best-case scenario, the blood tests will come back with null results and you may be able to return home on Tuesday,”With that Dr.Cohn exited the room in search of the eye chart, leaving Michael alone to his own thoughts for a couple minutes. 

The door was closed behind him so Michael spoke out experimentally,"Hello?"

He was met with silence.

"What? No sarcastic remark? No condescending look?"

Again silence.

"It was a real dick move, not telling me I could have...died..." The gravity of his situation instantly hit him like a brick as the words got caught in his throat. Remembering the pain that coursed through him, he subconsciously placed his right hand on the back of his neck as the scar permanently marking his skin from the first time he was shocked began to throb, "God... I nearly died..." his soft words were lost to the deaf ears as he placed his head in his hands.

...

Dr.Cohn knocked on the door, swiftly opening it seconds afterward. An eye chart in one hand and a couple other tools Michael couldn't name from the top of his head. Michael numbly responded to the questions asked of him. Another doctor entered the room, Dr.Hayes she introduced. Michael only regarded her with a small smile before getting lost in his thoughts. After what seemed like hours, they seemed content with the answers Michael gave them and the test results they were able to retrieve. Dr.Cohn picked up the blood samples on one of the desks while wedging the paper notes he took between his upper arm and torso while Dr.Hayes turned to Michael.

“There are a couple of visitors here for you if you’d like to see them?” She informed him.

”Uh-yeah...definitely,” Michael instantly perked up at the mention of his friends.

”If you don’t feel ready for visitors yet, they could always come tomorrow. Your health is our top priority right now.”

”No. I’m fine. Can I see them?” He stated more firmly before adding a small,”Please?”

The doctor gave him a gentle smile before nodding,”Of course. Just don’t push yourself. If at any moment you feel overwhelmed, there’s a switch off to your right. A nurse will be in your room within two minutes.”

”Okay. Thank you.” Michael bristled from his position on the bed.

She doctor nodded before both doctors he turned to exit through the door. 

...

Minutes passed by as Michael became more and more nervous about having to face his friends. It began to eat away at him as he began to fidget from his position. Hospital gowns were not comfortable. He noticed that the sun was setting through the window. All of a sudden, he could make out quick footsteps approaching from down the hall. The blinds in his room were closed so he wasn't able to distinguish who was making all the commotion. But the voices he heard just outside his room made it pretty easy to guess. Out of nowhere, the door seemingly slammed open on its own. Christine walked into the room followed by Rich, Jake, Brooke, Chloe, and Jenna. 

Michael continued to stare at the door for a couple more moments waiting for the one person he wanted to see the most to walk through the doorway. Although as the seconds passed, he became blaringly aware of the fact that no one else was going to enter the room. An unsettling silence invaded the area as no one dared to speak first, so Michael swallowed the dread that built up in face of his own mortality. He had to pry his eyes away from the door and towards the actual people standing in front of him forcibly making himself flash a brief smile scrunching his eyes in order to hide the tears that were threatening to build up, "Sup?" he was quick to catch the hitch in his voice before it escaped his lips. 

"Bro, your eyes..."Rich seemed to trail off. 

"Neat, huh?" His voice was missing its usual cheerfulness and he heard an off-handed 'No, it's pretty creepy' muttered from Brooke's lips but Michael chose to ignore it. He was trying his best in keeping in how frightening the whole experience had been knowing that if he voiced his own doubts now, he wouldn't be able to stop the tears falling down his face.

"I can see everything clearly now, even without my glasses. The doc said I have better than twenty-twenty vision," he stated masking his internal crisis with nonsensical rambling. 

Christine was the first to react from Michael’s seemingly excited statement,”They’re blue?”

Michael didn't miss a beat,"Yeah, Dr.Hayes was just explaining how a lack in melanin production caused them to turn blue but they still haven’t come up with a reason on how my vision was able to improve so much which is pretty freaky,” he let out a strangled laugh, pausing to catch his breath,”They had to get blood samples and everything,” he childishly showed off the bandage on his arm. He focused in on the bandage so that he didn’t having to look at anyone directly in the face. “Apparently, a person could survive off only having one out of the four pints of blood that people normally have. But I mean, they’d need an immediate blood transfusion. Not that they needed a full pint from me. They only needed a full injection needles worth.” A chill went down his spine when he was hit by a small breeze.

“Jeremy...” Jake started but trailed off.

As if on cue, Michael immediately stopped spouting out all the useless facts he could recall from his doctors’ explanations looking up from the bandage. Something was off in Jake’s posture. Another slight breeze hit his face before he directed his eyes straight towards Jake’s wondering why he seemed to stop mid-sentence.

”What about Jeremy? Is he okay?” A worried expression donned Michael’s features.

A couple of things happened at once after those words left his mouth. Everyone seemingly moved out of the way for something he couldn’t see. A bug perhaps? They were all pretty screamish the one time they all went camping and a moth ended up in the tent. 

He swore he caught sight of a brief glimpse of blue out of the corner of his eye as the door magically closed on itself causing him to flinch in surprise. Christine and Brooke gave each other a knowing look before quickly walking out the door.  Chloe stayed a couple moments longer staring at Michael before following Brooke into the hallway.

“Am I missing something? What happened to Jeremy?” Michael stated snapping everyone else out of their trances.

“What do you mean? Jeremy walked in with us. He was the first person in the room,” Rich explained confused.

Michael furrowed his eyebrows together in utter confusion.

"Didn't you see him? He was right in front of you waving a hand in your face?” Jenna questioned.

He shook his head, “No.” 

Everyone else’s eyes widened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone realizes that perhaps the real villain of the story is actually the author themself. Did the end of this chapter hurt more or less than the one in chapter eight? God, I had too much fun playing with ship names in this chapter.
> 
> Before anyone asks, no, neither Dr.Hayes nor Dr.Cohn are the mysterious figures that previously entered Michael's room in chapter ten. 
> 
> I know I’ve already asked this in a previous chapter but am I keeping characters in character? I really hope so. I feel like I struggle with Jake and Jenna the most. If any of the characters seem too OOC, pls inform me in the comments. It would definitely help.
> 
> Why did this chapter take so long to update?  
> Firstly, I wrote this other fic (y’all should check it out, yup shameless self-promotion). Secondly, I was originally going to end this chapter right after his doctors told him he had visitors but then I didn’t... Thirdly, I had other stuff to do. Yes, Jared. I am being very specific.
> 
> Next Chapter: Not all is what it seems as Michael seems to show other alarming signs that may jeopardize what’s left of his relationship with his player two. And why hasn’t the Squip shown up lately? 
> 
> Happy holidays and thank you all for kudos, bookmarks and comments and of course being your lovely selves. :3


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